Dragonball Citadel
by theallpowerfulpuipui
Summary: 15 years after the events of Dragonball GT, the Tuffle sleepers have awaken to initiate their conquest of the Universe. From their days as captives of the Saiyans to servants under Frieza, Operation Citadel, a Tuffle-Saiyan military operation to alter the genetic code of the universe has commenced after eighty years of planning. With Goku now gone, can anyone make a last stand?
1. Chapter I: Family Reunion

Update 4/29/16: Part I of Citadel: 25 has been released as Chapter 17. The chief premise of this story (surviving twenty-five missions for Frieza to get to live) is inspired upon the extremely low 24% survival rate for Allied air-crews in WW II, who in turn for surviving twenty-five missions over Germany were decommissioned. Obviously Axis survival rates are much lower.

Update 3/24/16: The first of Dragon Ball Citadel related short stories "Citadel: Genesis" is released as Chapter 16. These short stories elaborate on Citadel's back story and in-universe.

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Chapter I: Family Reunion

"Mr. Popo", Dende said with a look of concern on his face, which is no longer surprising due to the events that have transpired over the last fifteen years, "I sense a great threat in the universe. Something that the defenders of the Earth are not prepared for."

Mr. Popo stopped watering his shrubbery due to his concern for Dende. Since Dende was usually his only form of company, he had a relatively deep care for him. He responded, "Is this threat more dangerous to you than the others we experienced over the last fifteen years? Though we cannot revive the remaining warriors without the dragon balls, there was not a single threat that necessitated us to summon Porunga on Planet Namek."

"That's the problem Mr. Popo." Dende looked at him with great concern, "This threat is on Namek. No one can get there fast enough to stop it." Mr. Popo simply chuckled until the guardian started to plead, "Son Goku, you must be watching…"

On Namek, a mysterious Saiyan Warrior, wearing black Saiyan armor with an angular "PS" on the left side of his chest, was finished gathering the dragon balls unopposed. After Frieza's invasion of the planet, the Nameks decided to hide the dragon balls rather than guard them, as they learned that the magical balls can easily be found by ki sensing. What the Saiyan did was find seven needles in a haystack.

"The culmination of over eighty years of waiting, my time has come! My victory has become guaranteed." Said the mysterious Saiyan who found the final Dragon Ball in a dark cave. All seven dragon balls were now glowing, as he used telekinesis to carry his other finds with him. "I've been to this planet so many times, studying the people, studying the language…" He smirked, then started to speak Namekian, "Porunga! Arise!" Porunga burst through the mountain and the skies grew dark. The Nameks stared up and knew they were in grave danger. This only meant that someone has gathered the dragon balls without seeking permission of the elder, it was no way for good.

Porunga arose, able to intimidate anyone, even the Saiyan to a degree, "You have awoke me from my slumber. I am Porunga, the eternal Dragon. I can grant you three wishes."

The Saiyan did not act as eager as expected, he was very patient after all. "Porunga, you are generous because I only have one wish. I wish to be—" Suddenly he was interrupted by a surprising display of power as another dragon appeared, Shenron. The Saiyan remembered seeing this dragon before he sensed Frieza coming to Earth. As he was contemplating whether or not this was another wish granting dragon, he was surprised to see Kakarot come out of the dragon. "Kakarot!" He said… happily!

Goku was wearing the same blue gi he had when he merged with the Dragon, he also spoke Namekian, "Porunga, I commanded you to disperse. I'm here to protect this planet." Without hesitating, Porunga went inside the balls, the sky turned green, and the balls flew into the air and scattered across Namek. The Saiyan was surprised, but not deterred. He smiled confidently as he looked into Kakarot's fierce eyes.

"I am Son Goku, I've come to protect this planet. If you wish to leave and change your ways, we don't have to fight."

This opportunity was too good, the Saiyan thought. Not only did Kakarot finally emerge from the shadows, he emerged specifically to handle matters with him. He was not simply just Son Goku the hero of Earth to him. "Kakarot… Immortality can wait. I have waited my whole life to be able to speak to you face to face. I would've never known that you would have the power of a god, commanding the dragons yourself!"

"You act like you know me. Don't say that you do." Goku smiled coyly.

The Saiyan wagged his tail from one side to the other before wrapping it back around his body. "I may have never met you, but I do know you. I am Nach. Son of Kale, brother of Bardock and Roman, father of Galbans and Pea, Uncle of Turles, Raditz, and Kakarot." Goku realized that this Saiyan's hair and height was like of his brother.

"So you are my uncle and you are here for the Family Reunion." Goku smiled with a hint of sarcasm.

"Not exactly, I'm here for business. But business can wait because I've always admired your power from afar. I have known of your great battles with Piccolo, Nappa, Vegeta, Cell, Baby, and the Android. By the time we knew Frieza was dead, your amazing power has been impossible to keep up with, until now of course."

"You speak as if you know how powerful I have become, I'm quite disappointed," Goku smiled anticipating the challenge, his face fell once again as he grasped the seriousness of the situation, "If you're here for immortality, we can't be friends. But I'll tell you again, you can change your ways or we'll have to fight."

Nach looked disappointed, "You challenging me to a fight does not change the respect I have for you. You are a true Saiyan warrior, representing how we are the ultimate warrior race. You protect what you feel is right."

"What do you feel is right, uncle?" Goku chuckled. "Living forever?"

"I'll tell you what is right, join my Protection Squadron and secure Saiyan control of the universe. Imagine a universe completely populated by Saiyans, no longer anyone's slaves but supreme as they deserve to be! Whether it is with you, or without you, you cannot stop the plans I have in motion. I know you will decline my offer, but because I respect you, I'll give you a choice."

Goku's light-hearted attitude has dissipated, "What's the difference between you and Frieza? Live and let live, that's what I say."

"We have found the remaining orphan Saiyans, like you Kakarot, who were sent to planets to destroy their life and to go on the market for that… Frieza. But, they have joined me to make sure that Saiyans return to their rightful place as the universe's supreme race."

"You better get your scouter ready," said Goku smiling, "I've trained non-stop without fatigue for fifteen years. The power I have obtained will be unfathomable to you."

Nach smiled due to his curiosity, "My genetics have been enhanced to bring my natural powers far beyond their limits; I'm the only Saiyan who truly reached the pinnacle of his power. However, I do want to see your full power. You see, my scouter is calibrated to displays power levels as high as mine; I can record new power levels. If you somehow break it because, I did not change the settings to be at your, heh, echelon, then I'll accept my fate. However, I want to see what you're made of."

"I'm warning you one last time Nach, to change your ways, or else." Goku roared as he was about to become intense.

Nach smiled, "This is a matter you'll have to settle with violence Kakarot!" Goku screamed and the sky turned pitch black, the only form of light were the waves of red, blue, then yellow ki emanating out of his body. The scouter looked like it was still turned off. Nach smiled, "Kakarot I don't have a reading yet, and my scouter's not broken." Goku then transformed to a Super Saiyan, still eliciting no response from the scouter. Then he gasped, transforming to Super Saiyan 4. "That old form? When you transform to a Super Saiyan as an Oozaru? I'm barely getting a reading, I can't see how many thousandths…"

Goku hid his frustration, hoping that Nach was simply bluffing, "I haven't shown you the tip of the iceberg yet."

Nach now shown his first sign of anger, "I told you to show me your full power!" Goku then yelled and his eyes turned white. The whole sky was flashing yellow, black, and white. Goku's hair grew down to his chest and turned white and his gi burned off. "Your shirt's off, this means you're serious!" Suddenly the sky returned to its normal green, Goku continued to have an aura around him.

Goku spoke with a deep and serious voice, "I have learned to sustain the massive energy drain of this form. I can stay Super Saiyan 5 for years at a time if I wish… I hope you're not disappointed."

Nach laughed happily, "I am not! Kakarot I'm proud of you! We all know that Saiyans are the universe's supreme beings! I measure you at around 450 adjusted units of power."

Goku smiled confidently, "How good is that?"

"I won't beat around the bush, it's a little less than 90% of my full power."

"If so, how come I don't feel any of it?" he remained confident.

"I will give you one last chance to join me or to die. I want you to live to see Saiyans gain their proper control over the universe. But if we have to fight, it won't be because I disdain you, but because we're Saiyans. It's what we do."

Goku screamed, "Talk is cheap! Back it up!" Nach then yelled and powered up, it was underwhelming. Until Goku started quivering for the first time in his life. "Well, how? You aren't even a Super Saiyan!"

"Transformations are for novices, simple mind blocks for holding back our true power. I learnt that a Saiyan's power is almost unlimited, by removing our fear of unleashing our full power we can exceed our natural limits. With my training and my enhancements, I know I'm the strongest in the universe which is why I took the chance to obtain my immortality." Nach's impatience grew, "You have one last chance Kakarot, join me now, or die!"

"If there's a way to win, I'm going to find it!" Goku yelled as he threw the first punch right through Nach's afterimage. "Whoa, he's fast."

"Your arrogance will be your downfall Kakarot! Now it's time to die with honor." Both of them mostly exchanged jabs through each other's afterimage. "You're much faster than a 450, you're truly a prodigy."

Goku, who was excited but surprised how fast he was fatiguing to avoid taking a serious blow responded, "I don't go by what anyone's readings say. I knew that Frieza was maybe four times as strong as me at my best, and I never backed down."

Nach angrily shot back, landing a powerful blow on Goku's cheekbone, "You backed down from killing him!"

Goku held his face as he watched Nach hovering above him rather than continuing to attack, "This is not good," he thought, "I'm fighting at my full power and he is barely using any energy to fight me back."

"I knew it was another Saiyan who killed Frieza when he came to Earth, I have yet to find him. I respect that you want a good warrior, a great challenge like him, to come back stronger. But at a cost to whom? He destroyed our planet!"

"Planet Vegeta's no planet of mine!" Goku then unleashed a furious counterattack with many punches, finally Nach was hurt to a degree. Nach knew by talking he may get Goku to pause.

"I like how you fight Kakarot, why don't you join me and become sparring partners, I can teach you to be even more powerful. Maybe you'll become more powerful than I."

"Offer declined Nach!" Goku then started moving his arms, "Ka-Me"

"I'm disappointed," Nach spat disappointedly, "you are going to use your trump card at almost point blank range where I can evade it?"

"Ha-Me!" Goku continued without paying attention.

"I didn't think this was going to end this soon." Nach continued.

Suddenly Goku vanished. "HA!" The Kamehameha wave appeared behind Nach catching him off guard. The attack pushed Nach deep into the ground and the attack detonated not far beneath the ground to prevent destroying the planet. As fast as Goku turned the tables, Nach appeared behind him visibly injured.

"That was a good technique." Said Nach breathing heavily, "I'll have to start fighting you seriously."

The two exchanged more punches and kicks, but Nach clearly had the advantage. Goku was taking on damage quickly, bleeding, while Nach appeared to be warming up. Goku knew he was about out of tricks, but he didn't have to let Nach know that, "I have a lot more where that came from!"

"I must ask you Kakarot, how did you learn instant transmission?"

"Before I tell you," Goku smiled, "tell me how you became this powerful. When Vegeta first came to Earth he didn't have a fraction of the power you have. And I thought he was the best."

Nach agreed with Goku, "You're right, Prince Vegeta was the best. Like you I'm a so called low class Saiyan, a lie created by King Vegeta. I trained my whole life to surpass the likes of King Vegeta and Frieza. Living on Earth, whenever I reached a new level of power I always would sense how far behind I really was. I remember feeling the surge in my veins when I finally reached far beyond Frieza's level of power, only to see how weak I was compared to you when you sparred with that creature Cell. With a new benchmark, your benchmark now in my mind, I continued training in order to become the universe's strongest! With enhancement of my DNA, my lifespan and my power has been enhanced beyond my wildest dreams. My endless training, Kakarot, is how I got to where I am today."

Goku was surprised he was on Earth about as long as he was, "If you were on Earth so long, why didn't we see you when we fought Majin Buu—"

"Who?" Nach said genuinely. Goku forgot that everyone who lived on Earth does not remember the terror of Majin Buu. "You asked me how I got my power, I want to know where you learned instant transmission."

"After my battle with Frieza, my spacecraft landed in Yadarat. Where I was nursed back to good health, and learned many new techniques. I am able to appear anywhere," Goku then instantly appeared next to Nach, "instantly."

"I too have learned that same technique in Yadarat. It's one of the most difficult techniques to acquire. So difficult in fact, you can only learn it there. Since only the natives of Yadarat are able to pass on the technique, I've destroyed their world long ago."

Goku was disgusted before regaining his composure, "I've realized the same thing myself when I tried to teach Majuub the technique. I never knew Yadarat was gone, the gods never told me. All I know is that you're pure evil and I will put a stop to you!"

"Talk is cheap," Nach spat out, "Unless you have a something left in the tank for me, I'm going to end this fight quickly."

"I do have one more technique," Goku smiled, "but you'll be lucky to survive it."

Nach smiled lustily, despite the risk he was taking, "I'd love to see it, your best against my best."

Goku's face grew serious, "Universe, time, space, I need you to grant me your energy!" The whole universe, existence for that matter, tacitly complied and helped Goku create a Spirit Bomb greater than the size of Namek. The Nameks looked at something far brighter than the suns, they were amazed. They remarked at how incredible it was. Meanwhile, Nach had a furious aura around his body while charging to his peak power. "Nach, I call this the Genki Dama. It's going to feel like the weight of the universe is crushing you!"

"I'm ready if you are Kakarot!" Nach screamed far in the air while Goku was standing on the ground with his arms raised.

"It's not too late for you to change your ways!" Goku yelled, apparently forgetting his realization that his opponent was stated to be pure evil by himself, "It doesn't have to end like this!"

Nach screamed while extending both of his arms straight his hands touching in front of his chest, "Genocide Gun, fire!" A furious red wave of energy shot out of his hands.

Goku condensed the energy of the spirit bomb to the size of a ball in order to effectively combat the attack. "It ends here!" Goku had to use all of his energy to focus on the strength of the Spirit Bomb, rendering him unable to use instant transmission to escape the blast if he was overpowered. Goku knew defeat was not an option, as Namek's ground was beneath him. However, he started to notice that Nach's space ship, a Saiyan Pod, floated behind him. It appeared that Nach planned on surviving if Namek were to be destroyed with his blast. "You fool!" Goku yelled, "If you destroy Namek, you'll destroy the dragon balls along with it!"

Nach laughed, knowing his victory was at hand, "It's a risk I'm going to have to take!" He grunted and shot a fresh burst of energy into the blast. The Genki Dama became over-powered, and disintegrated from Nach's attack. All that stood in the way of Namek and the Genocide Gun was Goku himself, effectively spent of energy. The weight of Nach's blast hit Goku, dissolving him like Cell and pure-evil Buu. Nach stopped his attack before quickly, letting his pod open its door and take him inside. This would prevent him from asphyxiating in space. With Goku's body destroyed from the attack, Namek was hit through her core, and the planet was about to explode.

"The explosion of the planet will act like a vacuum," Nach thought, but now safely inside the pod he used instant transmission to make him and the pod appear in the Milky Way. He did have his reasons for his ship to survive…

Back on Earth on the lookout, Dende was horrified, he yelled, "GOKU!" Mr. Popo looked very concerned for the guardian. "I cannot believe that power, undoubtedly he'll be here on Earth. I don't believe anyone here is close to the power of Son Goku. When this threat inevitably arrives, we have to be ready to combat the danger. Mr. Popo, we will have to gather all the Z Fighters. We don't have much time to prepare! This time the odds are stacked against us."

Nach's pod approached a large space station orbiting the Earth. It attached itself to one of the bays. Visibly, many other pods were parked onto the space station docks. Almost at once he left his pod, a tall Saiyan beauty was waiting for him. She had a very testy look on her face. "So you were out messing around again Nach?" She chided him. Nach looked back at her, she was maybe a half a foot shorter than him, but still very large compared to the mere humans on Earth. She had long loose-curly red hair to half-inch over her boots, with black roots. She wore grey Saiyan armor with a black cape pinned into the shoulder pads and a crest of a black stripe, a white stripe, and a red stripe going diagonally and the left side of her chest. He looked back at her red eyes and played off he was doing something else.

"What makes you say that? I used the same brand of soap and kept a clean change of laundry in the trunk!" Nach jested while being visibly scratched and bloodied.

"I didn't mean that!" She said irritated with her tail's fur puffing up like a cat's, "I know you were out there doing something stupid, and the day I can finally convince the Field Marshal of it he'll let me chop off your head myself."

"Maybe one day you may convince him to have my head, but he'll still never notice you!" Nach snarled out of jealousy.

"He notices that I'm a woman who can be trusted," she blushed then instantly regained her composure, "I got promoted to the rank of general due to my hard work and because the Field Marshal trusts my hands with the Neo-Saiyan army. He simply lets you and your Protection Squadron criminals masquerade as his body guard, special forces, or whatever you punks call yourselves to keep your stupid butt busy. You know you'll never be held in the same esteem as I."

Nach laughed, "Brown-nosing for the Tuffle, Cori, how predictable!" Then Nach grew serious, "I don't have to tell you of any of my quests for power across the universe. Like you don't look for serious challengers on your days off or your leaves from duty."

Cori laughed, and knocked Nach back an inch with her bust while his face turned blue with sweat, "Six days a week, I am the ultimate Saiyan soldier. On my day off I can care less about scouring the universe for the lack of decent challengers when I got all this beautiful hair to touch up." She then ran her hand and red painted nails across what seemed like an endless stream of hair, "If you want a decent challenge, if you want to complete your quest for power," she beat her chest once with her left fist, "then I'm right here." Nach walked past her to save face as she let out a sinister chuckle.

Nach continued down the hallway and eventually other Saiyans dressed in grey Saiyan armor saw him appear, some were surprised he was wounded, others were excited just to find out what happened. He heard the grumblings and accusations, he had his opponents in the Neo-Saiyan Army yet had his allies in the Protection Squadron. His daughter Pea, dressed in black armor with a "PS" just like her father came up to him, she was very short and thin for a Saiyan, and had long straight black hair, "Father, I am afraid to ask, but are you well?"

Nach held his hand in a stop motion to her, as he entered a room to approach his masters. Sitting in the room were three people, two dark-brown skinned Tuffles and his brother Roman, who was relatively short for a Saiyan, maybe around Kakarot's height. He was standing next to his wife Stuka, who was sitting next to her brother Zerstorer. Stuka, about as tall as her husband, whose reddish-black hair hung down tightly-curled to her chin was still in her lab coat after a busy day commanded Nach to speak, "Nach, our readings have that you were attacked by an exceptionally high power level. How did you find this warrior?"

Nach bowed though he did not respect how Stuka approached him as an employee, rather than a soldier responded, "While training on Planet— Edom, I kept getting false readings from my scouter, as a Saiyan, a fighter with the level of 450 piqued my curiosity."

"Saiyans always do exciting things on their days off." She responded sarcastically as she tapped her acrylic nails on her cheek.

Roman, who seemed to resemble his nephew Kakarot due to his hair and lack of a tail, said in a less serious tone while counting with his fingers, "On Wednesday, I made a four course dinner—"

Nach who faked a chuckled continued, "Yeah. I'm sure you heard everything that… transpired."

"We only listen into your missions," Stuka responded as Nach smiled, "We aren't concerned with what happens on your day off. Whether you shaved, watched TV, or apparently go out looking for fights is not our business. Who would ever know you would run right into the next big thing on your day off."

Nach then became serious, "It wasn't just the next big thing Ms. Stuka, it was Kakarot, the Saiyan. The protector of the Earth who disappeared."

Stuka and Zerstorer were galvanized. Zerstorer, who was about Nach's height, whose head had no hair and had a black and curly beard stood up, "Kakarot, the Saiyan who defeated Prince Vegeta, Frieza, and Baby? That Kakarot?"

"Yes him, Master. I have no idea why he was on Edom out of all places. I was out looking for challengers and finally found one. It didn't take long, and he didn't hold back."

Stuka laughed at him, "I don't see why you travel across the universe when perfectly good challengers are right here!" General Cori and Zerstorer smiled sinisterly as Nach looked in front and behind himself. "You've never even beat Zerstorer while sparring!" Zerstorer chuckled when she said that much to Nach's irritation. Nach thought to himself how becoming stronger than Zerstorer was a lifelong ambition, he could not let them know how ready he really was until the right time.

Zerstorer stood up. This permitted Nach to stand up and caused the rest of the Saiyans to enter the room. Roman stood with respect, ready to salute. Stuka continued to sit calmly, even picking up a tablet and writing with her stylus nonchalantly. Zerstorer, who was in full grey military uniform, with the black, white and red Tuffle crest on the left part of the chest, gold shoulder pads that hung down yet poked out like that of Baby, and a red cape, started speaking to his army, "The commander of my Protection Squadron, Nach, has eliminated the legendary Saiyan Kakarot. Due to the unexpected nature of Kakarot's power, this was our last delay in commencing preparations for the operation. With our latest power measurements verified to be accurate, we will be able to initiate Operation Citadel uncontested. In the first Thursday of the next month, after preparations are complete, we will commence Citadel at 1600. The time to unite the Universe under Tuffle leadership, has begun!"

All the Saiyans, but not Nach or the Tuffle Stuka, saluted Zerstorer, "Hail Zerstorer, our Master!"

Nach was too eager to begin, "Zerstorer… Master." Nach almost sneered. "Why do we not commence right now. If we are uncontested, there's no need to wait!"

"Hold your tongue Saiyan, know your place." The rest of the Saiyans were frightened, they did not know command under Frieza but they could imagine it. "We've waited for over eighty years, fifteen days barely phases me. Does it phase you?"

Under his closed lips, Nach clenched his teeth in disgust. He could not imagine why Zerstorer would want to wait for a single minute with how powerful he was. "No, no, Zerstorer, Master."

Zerstorer looked into the eyes of his army hopefully, and arrogantly, "Soon Saiyans and their Tuffle masters will rightfully rule the Universe. Every being will be mated with the superior Tuffle genetics and will eternally be under our command! There will be no more Friezas or apathetic Kakarots! Finally, the one meant to lead, myself, will finally rule!"


	2. Chapter II: Frieza's Brother?

Chapter II: Frieza's Brother?

Beerus and Whis were standing on top of the Capsule Corporation Building. It appeared as if they were surveying all of the Earth. Beerus was exceptionally proud of himself, as he just finished eating 100 tuna rolls. "If it weren't for the food," Beerus laughed with his usual bravado, "I would destroy this puny planet in an instant, like I destroyed so many others."

Whis tried to interrupt, "Beerus…"

"You see, planet Namek actually just exploded! I don't even have to be there to command a planet to be destroyed—"

"Yes, but Lord Beerus—"

"What must get created must also be destroyed, that's Newtonian physics! Or is it Einsteinian physics, or—"

"Lord Beerus, it has been over fifteen minutes!" Whis informed him in an alarmed fashion.

Vegeta, now decked out in a patchy five o'clock shadow beard opened a window below them, stuck his head out and yelled, "Do I hear slacking off up there? The greenhouse has had its sprinklers turned off, and I need all the vegetation to be watered by hand. GET GOING!"

"Yes, yes, Master Vegeta!" Beerus bowed repeatedly to the point that Whis rolled his eyes, "We'll get going right away."

Whis cracked a smile and made light of the situation to antagonize Beerus, "Should I fix the sprinkler system again?"

"No, Whis no! Remember the last time when you fixed the sprinkler system then Master Vegeta found out and—"

"He yelled at you." Whis looked at him, his eyes almost became as small as dots.

"First he yells at you," Beerus said with fear, "Then he can destroy you. I may be a god but it doesn't mean I'm omnipotent."

Vegeta yelled, making the top of the Capsule Corporation building pop up, "I'm watching live video of the greenhouse right now not being watered!"

Beerus' jaw dropped, "Right away, right away Master Vegeta!"

In the greenhouse, Bulla, was dressed casually was reading a scientific journal peacefully while Whis and Beerus were hard at work. Beerus who was hoeing dirt was singing, out of a combination of fear and madness to pass the time, "I was once a god, now that I'm a clod, I water plants, for the great Vegeta… Vegeta… I water your vegetables…" Bulla looked up into the sky as suddenly the greenhouse grew dark, Beerus gasped, dropped his hoe, and started plowing, "I'm so sorry Master Vegeta, forgive me Master Vegeta!" Then the light came back. "Oh Vegeta, you are so great! You are so—"

Bulla spoke up, "I wonder why there's a spaceship landing here?"

Whis responded, "It looks like a spaceship from the Planet Trade Organization."

Bulla put down her tablet, "What's that Whis?"

"That means, someone that knows Frieza is here. Probably to speak to your father."

Vegeta walked outside to satisfy his curiosity, he sensed no one aboard that ship who posed a danger to the planet. Soldiers in Planet Trade Organization armor came out and formed two single file lines and bowed. Two Arcosians, one Vegeta's height, with light blue skin and a smooth surface like Frieza and another who had maroon skin, was tall and thin with horns was wearing armor and a cape, walked to Vegeta and bowed to him.

"Prince Vegeta," said the smooth Arcosian.

"Good afternoon Lord Fridge," said Vegeta with a level of boredom, "what brings you here to Earth."

"We have come on good terms," said Fridge with a level of fear that Vegeta could not put a finger on, "I have come with my son Freon as an act of good will. We are ready to negotiate on favorable terms to you."

Bulma, though now of many years, never appeared to show it ran outside, "Vegeta, do you know these people?"

"Yes I do, that's Frieza's brother and his son." Vegeta responded, scratching his patchy facial hair, "Tell the cat and the girly man to prepare a feast for our respected guests, and their soldiers."

Bulma looked incredulously at the Arcosians, but if Vegeta appeared to be okay with these Frieza-people she thought, then that meant they could not be too bad. "No problem Vegeta, I can't wait to catch up with Frieza's… brother." Bulma walked back inside and ran into her overgrown child Trunks, despite being number one in the equivalent of the Fortune 500 has yet to move out. "Trunks, tell Bulla in the greenhouse that we need our servants to prepare a feast."

Trunks was sweaty from putting time in the gravity chamber, "No, problem I'll get Bulla." He buzzed her tablet, "Sis, get the slaves to make dinner, we have guests."

Bulla got the message and began to speak to Whis and Beerus who were using watering cans, "Dad wants both of you to start making dinner for the guests."

Whis raised his head and asked, "How many guests mistress?"

Bulla thought about it for a second and responded, "I don't know, let me ask dad."

Lord Beerus crawled over to her and started kissing her feet, "Mistress, I beg of you. I remember what happened last time we asked Lord Vegeta how many guests. I implore you, please!"

Bulla stood up, smiled, and closed her eyes, "Well, because you used the word 'implore.'"

"Thank you, I am so grateful," Beerus beamed and continued to cower, "we'll cook the biggest feast you've ever seen!"

"Don't forget what Dad did the last time we wasted food." Bulla laughed while Beerus and Whis fell over with their feet in the air.

While the soldiers were eating and drinking at a dining hall Fridge and Freon were eating in a dining room with Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks, and Bulla. Vegeta shown ire at the small talk that Fridge would make. He knew that Arcosians tried to act with manners, but he was a Saiyan, no matter how much he tried he could not hide his lack of interest, Fridge and Freon continued to act the way Arcosians usually do.

"So they call h'ors dourves 'appetizers' here on Earth." Freon said with a degree of interest while eating a puff pastry with a small fork.

"How quaint!" Fridge smiled.

Vegeta ate with little matters or sense of joy while looking over to his son who was blushing slightly to hide his laughter, "Trunks, it's just called 'food before the meal.'"

Bulma was disgusted with Vegeta's behavior, "Mr. Fridge, Mr. Freon, they are also called h'or dourves here on Earth."

Bulla but in, both her and Trunks started to laugh while Fridge and Freon had no idea what they considered humorous much to Vegeta's embarrassment, "Here on Earth it's also called antipasti!"

"Well, uh…" Bulma interrupted Bulla, despite the fact Fridge and Freon acted not the least bit insulted, "How did you and… Vegeta get to know each other?"

Fridge smiled and put down his fork and spoke pleasantly, "I am so glad you asked! You see, I knew Prince Vegeta since he was a—"

"Child." Vegeta droned with disinterest while his fist pushed up his cheek.

"Yes! A Child. My generous brother took him in after Planet Vegeta was hit with an—"

"Asteroid."

"We really do finish up each other's sentences." Fridge looked over to Vegeta and responded politely.

Impatiently, Freon filled in everyone sitting at the table, "My father is one of Frieza's many governors. That is how he met Prince Vegeta. My uncles have control of vast stretches of the Empire. Ever since Frieza died here on Earth, there was a short period of instability in parts of the Empire Frieza himself personally administered. However, my father stepped in after a few years to fill in the power vacuum, when Frieza's death was confirmed of course, and ended the bloodshed."

Bulma looked over at Fridge and joked while Vegeta groaned, "So Vegeta, it looks like we have another Frieza on our hands."

Fridge finished chewing then laughed, "Ha, I am hardly Frieza's equal. Vegeta was stronger as a child than I am."

"Then what takes you here Lord Fridge," Vegeta realized he said that out of habit, "We're not here to catch up on old times."

Fridge looked afraid to explain, so his son stepped in, "Parts of the Empire are being destroyed by a power level beyond our comprehension. Billions have died, and an innumerable amount have been made homeless. None of our scouters and computers could calculate the power level, but I will never forget the ki I sensed. The power comes unmistakably from a Saiyan."

Vegeta looked intrigued for a moment and rubbed his finger across his stubble then realized, "I'm not falling for that one again!"

"Quite simply, most of the Saiyans, including infants, who were on assignment before Planet Vegeta's destruction have died of natural causes or have already defected to the Planet Trade Organization and have been executed for crimes. You are the only Saiyan we know left alive."

Vegeta, enraged from the accusation, stood up and banged his fist on the table, "That's preposterous, why would I want to destroy your stupid little planets? If I wanted to control this universe I have the power to do that already!"

Fridge was frightened that this was not going well, but Freon was undeterred, "If the Saiyan was not you, we need to know what we are up against. You see, I am a trained warrior, but hardly the equal of Frieza, we would be willing to give you anything you wished to ensure the safety of our subjects."

"You're making me an offer?" Vegeta smirked, as if it was a joke.

"If you can, I would like to witness how powerful you are, just to compare." Vegeta laughed heartedly as he did not find the ruse convincing. Freon smiled, "Íf you did not want to know, you would have never let us off the ship." Vegeta stopped laughing.

"Come with me Lord Freon," Vegeta responded out of habit, "If you want an exhibition of pure Saiyan power that's exactly what you'll get." Trunks and Bulla followed with excitement while Bulma simply went along.

As the six of them were in Capsule Corp's gravity training room, Fridge whispered impatiently into Freon's ear, "If Vegeta is not the Saiyan we are looking for I suggest we leave!"

"I want to see Prince Vegeta's power father," Freon whispered confidently, "do this for me."

"Very well." He quipped, as he did not see the point of the exercise.

"Just because Kakarot has merged with the Eternal Dragon and left this world it hardly means that I slacked off in my conditioning," Vegeta announced, starting to brim with excitement, "You see, Kakarot's absence has only inspired me to become more powerful than ever before, as now the safety of Earth is practically my sole responsibility. Now, I'll show you the full extent of my capabilities!" Bulla and Trunks looked excited, "I continued to train for the last fifteen years, even some of the great warriors I struggled with would be child's play to even my children now. I've learned to train smart, not hard."

Freon was excited, "Yes, now let us watch you transform!"

Vegeta grunted as he displayed three out of five super saiyan forms. He went Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2 easily. He grunted a little harder as the bioelectricity became more and more violent during the transformations before his hair turned white and grew to his shoulders. Now the waves of energy and bioelectricity were manageable; Freon was utterly amazed.

"I cannot believe it," Freon said happily, "with a little work father we may stand a chance. Vegeta, whatever you ask for will be yours, eternally, if you protect our worlds!"

Vegeta was agitated, not at Freon, but at how he has not become as strong as he expected. "But I am at close to 100% of my power!"

"You have come a long way Prince Vegeta. Your power is amazing." Freon approved.

"Bah." Vegeta transformed back to his base form. "What you don't understand is that if there is someone stronger than I; that means I have failed in my training."

Freon smiled, as he now knew he was going to make the sale. "Now you know that you have the ability to become even stronger." Vegeta was now truly intrigued, "Saiyans do not have these so called limits; that is why Uncle Frieza was so petrified of them. Train me Prince Vegeta, help train me get close to the level of your power necessary to perfect my technique to enable me to protect our worlds. You on the other hand can close the gap between yourself and the Saiyan."

Vegeta did not take that long to think about it, he knew if Freon was able to remember how powerful this opponent was, he can help the prince match it. Vegeta smiled, "I know you're playing me, but you're right! Fine Freon, I'll train you when I want to, where I want to." Everyone was shocked.

"Do not feel obliged to train my son," Fridge implored, "I can still offer you anything you want for your help. You do not need to feel it is necessary to—"

"I've made my decision," Vegeta asserted, "Don't make me regret it."

After the display of power, the six of them finished dinner. While Bulma and Fridge were talking about the universe's great literature, Trunks got up and walked over to Freon who was outside looking at the night sky. "I've heard all about Frieza." Trunks said with concern, "He raised my father. He raised him to be a murderer. Why would you want to come back when he could leave it all behind?"

"I do not ask your father to be a murderer," Freon retorted. "I am responsible for the safety of billions of our citizens. I knew that the Saiyan I sensed could not be your father. If Vegeta wanted to destabilize the Empire, he surely had the power to do it long ago. Your father is a Saiyan, and he is naturally looking for his next challenge. I knew I could convince him to help us by appealing to what he is at his core, a Saiyan."

"What if I told my father this?" Trunks threatened.

"He would naturally come to the conclusion that you think he is an idiot." Trunks was insulted, but Freon continued, "Surely whoever this Saiyan is, will manage to make his way to Earth at an inevitable later date. For the sake of the people on this planet, would not you prefer the battle to happen far away from here?"

"My father's not an idiot, whatever you have planned Freon, he will defeat the Saiyan, and whatever ruse you have in place for him!" Trunks walked away while brushing onto Freon's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Vegeta and Bulla were back in the gravity room in their gym clothes practicing. Vegeta was transformed as a Super Saiyan while Bulla was dodging his punches and kicks in the base in an agility drill. They were not sparring so intensely to stop them from talking.

"Dad," Bulla asked while dodging punches, "Do you think it's a trap? Training Frieza's nephew or whatever he is?"

"I'm not too concerned," Vegeta smiled as he was happy his daughter was getting much faster, "I've known those two forever. They're bureaucrats, hardly tyrants. Fridge is about as arrogant as Frieza, but at least I can keep my food down thinking about him."

"When do you think you're going to train him?" Bulla started to pant.

Vegeta had a more serious look on his face while thinking, "I'm still mulling it over. If they get up and leave, I hardly know where to find them." Vegeta started looking more serious and lunged a punch so fast and hard Bulla transformed into a Super Saiyan to block the hit.

"Watch out there!" Bulla laughed. "I don't need a black eye when I'm seeing Dr. Phillips during office hours tomorrow!"

"You seem more concerned about your dissertation than your wedding." Vegeta pointed out.

Bulla laughed during a counterattack, "Are you taking a shot at my dissertation, my fiancé, or both?"

"That's enough," Vegeta transformed back into his base form then rambled with concern, "I know one of these days I will not be around to protect you. You'll never have to protect the Earth like myself, but I need you to be able to protect yourself."

"You don't have to worry about me," Bulla assured him, "as far as Alphonse is concerned, I'm just a regular human!"

The following morning, Fridge, Freon, and their soldiers were boarding their spaceship to leave. Bulma and Vegeta were watching until she broke the silence, "Vegeta, we should really have them over again. Fridge was telling me stories of what you were like as a baby!"

Vegeta groaned with disgust, while Fridge started saying his farewells from the ramp of the ship, "Prince Vegeta. It was such an honor to meet your beautiful family. I would love to extend the invitation for your family to visit Frieza Planet 150, of course after we assure it is safe for visiting!"

Vegeta thought to himself before he spoke, "I can't believe I'm doing this." He looked over to Freon, then began to speak, "Freon's staying here with me. I will show him how to get to the next level of power; that way your planets can be safe."

Freon smiled, but Fridge look worried, "What if the sa-saiyan comes back? Who would be able to protect the planets and our citizens' homes?"

"I'm not much use right now father," Freon interrupted, "I cannot stand a chance against this type of threat without approaching Vegeta's level of power. Whether I am there or not we are in danger, but hopefully there is a window of time. It is a chance we have to take."

"Fridge, you are not going back alone." Said a mysterious voice.

Freon looked up, "Who's that?"

It was Majuub, who was sitting calmly on one of the Capsule Corp buildings before jumping down. "I'm Majuub, I protect this planet."

Vegeta looked back at what was his only sense of a rival left during the last fifteen years they protected the Earth, "That's Kakarot's pupil." He informed Fridge and Freon. "He's pretty good, but he's more of a trickster than a warrior."

"As usual you underestimate me," Majuub smiled at Vegeta.

"Do you plan on coming back with me?" Fridge asked while Majuub nodded shortly afterwards, "Why?"

"I overheard everything that's happening," Majuub smirked, "If there's someone more powerful than Vegeta in the universe…" Vegeta leered at Majuub as he continued, "Then he's coming here next. The best defense is a good offense."

"Ha, like you would stand a chance Majuub." Vegeta taunted, "What are you going to do, turn him to a chocolate bar?"

Fridge looked over at Freon and said, "A chocolate bar?"

Majuub was not threatened the least bit, he was in fact angry, "Do you really believe your own rubbish? The difference between you and me is that you're afraid. I sensed your fighting power; I have no reason to be afraid."

Vegeta was infuriated at Majuub's implication that he has become much stronger than him. "Freon," Vegeta yelled, "We do not have a moment to spare. Come with me now." Freon floated over to Vegeta, "Now, follow me!" Both of them launched into the air and far away.

"Well, Vegeta is still his predictable self." Bulma sighed.

"You're not going to have anything to worry about," Majuub said to comfort Fridge and Bulma, "I have been trained under Son Goku. He always told me that my potential has always far exceeded his. For years I wondered if it was simple positive reinforcement, but now I finally understand what he meant. With my combination of pure power and magic, I am prepared to not only protect here, but to protect the entire universe. No one else has to die."

Bulma smiled, "Be safe Majuub, try to get home in one piece."

Majuub laughed, "I have many surprises in store."

Fridge felt no need to impress Majuub, possibly due to his disappointment of not having Vegeta join him and his son on their trip home. "Do not forget to knock the dirt off your boots before entering the ship, we just waxed the floors on Monday." Majuub smiled, taking off and throwing away his boots before landing next to Fridge. He smiled as he started to walk into the ship with Fridge barefoot. He squirmed, "May I offer you a pair of slippers?"

Bulla was meeting with her professor for her PhD dissertation. She was getting critiques on her study, which was on making multiple species of agricultural crops to make them famine-proof. Her professor, Dr. Nita Phillips was obviously the Tuffle Stuka incognito. "Your specimens are all unique species," commented Stuka who was wearing a sweater and a skirt with black tights, "but this has been a road humankind has gone down before. At what expense and availability can these crops be distributed?"

"That's the thing." Bulla responded, "Multiple species of grain, rice, and other crops have been introduced before, but farmers are always going to continue to use the cheapest and most common bio-engineered species available. The research and development of my crops took maybe a percent of the time and have been developed for a fraction of the cost. This means that they can go to market against today's 'McCrops', and easily increase the biodiversity of the grains we have available. When virus outbreaks or drought hit the Earth, less crops will die simply due to increased bio-diversity naturally having less vulnerability compared to the current homogenized agricultural crops that have become so common. Food prices will fluctuate less, and there will be increased international stability, just from some corn and barley plants!"

"You think big like your grandfather Dr. Briefs!" Stuka responded impressed.

Bulla was embarrassed, "I hardly want to live in the shadows of my mother or grandfather Dr. Phillips. I don't want to be remembered of being the granddaughter of the inventor of capsules."

"Being born into such a legacy is a blessing and a curse Ms. Briefs," Stuka responded. Bulla professionally used her mother's surname since her father Vegeta lacked one. "My mother was one of the chief scientists on the fringe Machine-Mutant project."

"What was that? I have never seen it in any credible scientific journal. I have heard of it through incredulous news sources." Bulla responded surprised.

"That's one of the largest differences between my mother and I," Stuka adjusted her glasses and responded honestly, "She was involved with a fringe science culture. Though the project succeeded, there was no way for it to be implemented by the everyday person. if everyone doesn't know about it, it doesn't exist. Many people invented motor vehicles, but only the person who invented the motor vehicle for the public at large is remembered. Many people invented spacecraft, but only the person who invented personal spacecraft for the masses is remembered. I did not want to be remembered of the daughter of someone who made obscure artificial lifeforms, but I wanted to make my own legacy."

"Anti-aging." Bulla pointed out, "The science already existed, but it was not until a generation ago until it was affordable by the public."

"Exactly." Stuka spoke proudly, "A majority of people living one hundred years was a dream even fifty years ago. The science already existed, but how can it be accessible to the public at large? When pharmaceutical and beauty companies started to believe in my advances, it got distributed to the public and made me the woman I am today. Only the wealthy have been able to cheat death from age, childhood diseases, and even a bout of skin wrinkles in the past. However, many remember me as the person who brought this technology to the world. I did not, but now a majority of people have access to it."

"I am always impressed." Bulla responded with admiration, then continued with her project. "I will determine the exact costs of the development and distribution of the crops to present their feasibility of going to market."

Stuka smiled, "You seem to look forward to your projects more than your own wedding Ms. Briefs!"

Bulla blushed with embarrassment and changed the subject, "Have you ever had any projects that have not succeeded at the same level Dr. Phillips?"

"Too many to count!" Stuka laughed, "I have been trying to enhance genetics for the longest time, to make us born smarter and stronger. Even to make someone already alive smarter and stronger. Sadly there is a much bigger market to look young than to increase the average intellect."

Bulla laughed, "So the world in 25 years will not hunger, will be much prettier, and not much smarter!"

"I dream of world without disease," Stuka spoke optimistically, "illness, and without anyone being disadvantaged. The problem can be solved genetically, but it will take a great mind to bring these changes to the masses. If there's a will, there's a way!"


	3. Chapter III: Z Fighters Prepare

Chapter III: Z Fighters Prepare

Trunks was flying at his top speed to meet Gohan. With Vegeta off to who knows where and Majuub making his way for Frieza Planet 150, Trunks needed to marshal the troops in case there was a credible threat to the Earth. Gohan was eating a snack with his wife Videl and his granddaughter Kinuwa. "Finish your quinoa rolls! " Gohan smiled with his bespectacled face.

Suddenly, he heard Trunks' boots hit the ground. "What could it be?" He thought as he stood up. Videl got worried when she saw Gohan's face with grave concern.

Videl inquired, "Is everything okay? I didn't know Trunks was coming today."

"I don't know," said Gohan, putting his glasses on the table. "He didn't call ahead, so he's not here just to say hello." Gohan then walked outside to meet Trunks. As he saw the worried look on Trunks' face he asked, "Something happened, are we prepared?"

"I don't know." Trunks responded, "So many things happened yesterday. Frieza's brother came to the Capsule complex and gets dad freaked out about another Saiyan that's even stronger than him. To make things worse, Vegeta flies off with the thing's son and Majuub left the planet with Frieza's brother. I think only Goten, Pan, and yourself are left to protect the world right now."

"Leave my daughter out of it," Gohan responded defensively, "Krillin, 18. Tien, Yamcha, Chatzou, and Roshi have continued their training."

"Their abilities are of little value if we're facing a legitimate threat." Trunks disagreed.

"How about Bulla? As if Vegeta did not teach her to protect herself?"

"My sister is hardly responsible for protecting the planet." Now they were back at square one. "We have three warriors right who can protect the Earth with Vegeta and Majuub gone; maybe only two after the fusion. If we cannot achieve the numbers to fight, then we are in big trouble."

Gohan breathed deeply, "We're going to have to go to the lookout and train. Dende will be able to get us to respond before the planet is under attack. Let me say good-bye to my family; I'll tell them everything."

Gohan walked back into his house and Trunks looked through the window. Gohan put Videl into his arms as she cried, Kinuwa started tugging at her grandmother's shirt, not understanding the situation. Trunks walked inside and asked, "Gohan, should I give you a little longer?"

Gohan looked into his wife's eyes then nodded, "Give us the night. I'll meet you at the lookout. We'll train non-stop until we understand what we are up against. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Trunks said his good-byes and departed. Videl looked worried at Gohan after Trunks left and asked, "Without your father around anymore, we are always going to be afraid. I thought it would all be over after Goku merged with the Dragon. That maybe all of the Earth's problems were due to the use of the dragon balls. However, it seems like someone or something is attacking the Earth every four years. Not that we didn't handle it, but what if someone is stronger than you? We don't have the dragon balls to reverse the damage."

"There's another set of dragon balls, on Planet Namek!" Gohan said with just a little excitement, "It takes six days to get there, but if something were to happen to myself, or Vegeta, we would have to use their dragon balls."

Little Kinuwa spoke up, probably drawing her idea at random, "Grandpa? If you had a wish, could you wish to live forever to see my children, my grandchildren, and my grandchildren's grandchildren?" The idea hit Gohan and Videl at the same time.

"Videl," Gohan smirked, "How good are you at keeping secrets?"

"The best Gohan," she smiled "we would have no reason to be afraid anymore."

"Trunks thinks I have the night, but I don't have a moment to spare. Videl, get one of my teaching assistants to cover my classes." He then kissed Kinuwa's head in a hurry, "Thanks for everything my little peanut, you may have saved the world!" Gohan ran outside and blasted off into the sky.

Kinuwa ran behind Gohan's dust, "Grandpa! I want to play superhero too!"

Gohan flew to the lookout where he saw Dende and Mr. Popo. Dende was surprised to see Gohan respond this quickly, while Mr. Popo continued to smile. Gohan yelled out to Mr. Popo, "Mr. Popo! I need you to transport me to Planet Namek, now!"

"You're not the one to give the marching orders around here." Mr. Popo scoffed.

"What brings you here," asked Dende, as if Gohan came to approach him about a sensitive subject. "Is it your father?"

"What do you mean my father?" Gohan looked a Dende seriously, "Trunks told me that someone associated with Frieza has Majuub and Vegeta flew off to who knows where with this thing's son."

"Gohan, I don't know how to tell you." Dende ignored what Gohan told him completely, he was about to cry, "You're father came back."

Gohan's heart swelled up, he missed his father his entire life, and with Piccolo in hell he always felt lonely. "Father, he's back?"

Mr. Popo smiled while Dende continued with his serious tone, "He came back, Gohan. He arrived on Planet Namek with Shenron." Gohan had to know what happened next, did someone use the dragon balls? "Someone summoned Porunga on Namek but Goku stopped him." Gohan knew better than to ask if the dragon balls were still potent, "but he was not as powerful as the opponent he faced. It seemed like it took seconds for him to… die." Gohan was about to break down as Dende continued, "It seems as if Planet Namek, and your father disappeared in an instant. Whoever did it was able to overwhelm your father's power and destroy him with the planet, yet somehow himself lived."

Gohan walked off to the edge of the lookout, using all of his strength to hold himself back from crying. He yelped a yell loud enough for the whole Earth to hear. The sheer power of his Super Saiyan transformation illuminated the planet in a golden flash.

"That power…" Freon said surprised while flying next to Vegeta, "It is amazing. Is there another Saiyan left alive?"

"That must be Gohan, he's Kakarot's son." Vegeta responded as if Freon was somehow familiar with that name. "He has continued in his training. It's about time he stopped slacking off."

Back at the lookout, Gohan finally summoned the energy to speak, though he really roared in a rage, "I don't know who you are and what you want, but when I meet you, I won't just fight you, I will kill you!"

Mr. Popo walked over, brazen as usual, "We have rebuilt the Room of Spirit and Time. The hyperbolic time chamber is now new, and improved."

Still fueled with rage, Gohan muttered, "How?"

"The environment has become much more difficult to survive in and the gravity, much, much, more intense." Mr. Popo smiled, "Majuub has spent much time there; it has greatly improved his abilities."

"If something is happening to the Earth," Gohan inquired, "Would I be able to find out and leave?"

Mr. Popo was honest, "No. You do not know what is happening in the outside world. And, you may only enter once though there is no limit of time." Gohan knew better than to ask why, so he let Mr. Popo continue to explain, "Think wisely before you decide to start your training. Think about who, if anyone, you want to train with. Also consider whether you would be able to survive the trip."

"It's a risk I'm going to have to take." Gohan knew this was a road he's been down before. Ever since the Elder Kai let him reach his complete potential he let go of his fear, for a short while. After his defeat from Gotenks-Buu, Gohan's fear came back, disabling him from accessing his complete potential. After the incidents with the gods of destruction, Gohan became serious about his training again even though he was still outclassed by his opponents. He now considered himself again at that elite level, but he was still paralyzed by the fear that without his father around that the planet would always truly be in danger. Gohan never felt Vegeta or Majuub were up to the task of taking his father's place. He knew that he would have to challenge his very limits to let go of his fear, and ascend to his pinnacle level.

"This is something I'm going to have to do alone." Gohan said, "If I cannot ascend back to the level I know I am capable of, I am of little use in defending the Earth anyway. Show me to the hyperbolic time chamber."

"This way," Mr. Popo invited.

"Gohan! Gohan!" Dende pleaded, "You cannot just walk in there, like it's a walk in the park! Majuub survived because he's a magical being. He can breathe without oxygen, regenerate his ki and limbs, and even create food if necessary. You don't have any of those abilities! You will die!"

Gohan looked over and started thinking about his doubts, "Was I ever good enough? Was the time that Mr. Piccolo and my father spent training me a waste? Was my victory against Cell an aberration, only accomplished by sheer transformation?" Gohan then spoke aloud, "You're right, you're right…" Then he looked back at Mr. Popo and remembered why he became irrelevant in the first place, "No! You're not right. I won't try, I won't die, I will succeed, then I will win!" Gohan then didn't say another word, or even get any provisions before stepping into the hyperbolic time chamber. Mr. Popo closed the door behind him and said, "Bye..."

Dende looked extremely worried, "Not only is it doubtful that Gohan will live, now others that may have helped him live themselves cannot make use of the Room of Spirit and Time. Time will only tell if this is a blunder."

Meanwhile a day later on another planet, an alien race was ineffectively trying to repulse Roman and two other Saiyans with ki attacks on their march to the throne room. Their attacks simply hit the Saiyans without effect; they didn't even flinch. They continued to walk as if nothing was happening. They reached the locked doors of the throne room, which one of the Saiyans simply pushed open. As the large doors crashed to the ground, the king's bodyguard pounced at the Saiyans. They had the same lack of effect as the king's army.

"Sire, I can't even make a scratch with my fiercest attack!" Said one of the birdlike creatures. The rest wrapped themselves around Roman and self-destructed. The room was full of smoke, but then the Saiyans emerged in front of the king as they walked through the smoke unaffected.

"Good king," Roman spoke, clearly shorter than the Saiyans to his right and left, "we did not come here for war. We have come to ask something of you."

The king, adorned with robes, with a tail wrapped around them like a belt, looked at the three Saiyans. He noticed that their appearance was like his own. Their black hair, their tails, their olive complexion, "It can't be!" He thought. He felt he was one of a kind ever since his first memory; he was king of a planet of beings that looked nothing like himself. He remembered having the greatest urge to destroy them all, but he remembered getting milk and food from his subjects as a toddler. He could never bring himself to kill his caretakers, though he thought nothing of controlling them, since after all, might makes right and he has by far the most might as far as he knew. "Are these… Aliens my brethren? It can't be, I am the only one of my kind."

"Good king," Roman reminded politely, "We request an audience."

"You three…" The king sneered, "Why have you come to Planet Nion. We do not come to harm anyone, we are happy here by ourselves. Now, go!"

Gus, a typical tall athletic Saiyan to Roman's left, was insulted, "You can't just tell us to leave." He snapped back.

Roman held his hand to Gus gesturing him to stop, then continued to speak with the king, "Excuse me King Nion… Do you remember how you got your name?"

The king looked at the Saiyan as if this was one of the most ridiculous moments of his life, "What… That's ridiculous! You come all the way from who knows where and massacre my army to ask me my life story?"

Aspari, a tall and skinny Saiyan, tugged a strand of her hair and laughed at the king, "We didn't kill a single thing. I don't know who died trying to kill us, but all we did is land our spacecraft and walk right over here."

Roman then looked more serious as he spoke with the king, "Do you remember how you got your name? Do you remember how you got here!"

"No!" The king yelled truthfully, "All I know was that I was told by my subjects that I saved this planet from the Oozaru, or the Great Ape. They said I called myself Nion so they named the planet in my honor. I used my innate power to destroy the moon, because as legend has it, the Oozaru lived there. So there you have it, go away, let us live in peace. We don't mean any harm to anyone."

"You are one of us," Roman started to explain.

The king was starting to deduce this, though it was still very shocking to him. He did not care if these aliens were his brethren, he was used to his life as king on his small planet. "So what if I am, I do not care!"

"You will care because the fate of the universe, the fate of this planet's existence hangs in the balance. Did you ever hear of Frieza?"

"The bogeyman?" The king laughed at what he considered a ridiculous question, "Like some sort of ice demon exists to destroy my planet? Please go away, let my subjects start to repair the damage they created… attacking you."

"You see, Frieza was once the lord of almost the whole universe, having an empire greater than can be comprehended. During his quest for immortality, a Saiyan, like you, put an end to him. But that still has not put an end to war in the universe."

"A Saiyan? What's that?" The king asked.

"We are Saiyans," Roman explained, "You are a Saiyan. Have you ever wondered why you had that tail?"

The king responded defensively while his tail became puffy, "To scratch that part of your back you can't reach I guess!"

Gus spoke up again, "Have you ever wondered why you have that urge to fight! That urge to get stronger! That urge to ascend to higher and higher levels of power?"

The king was now reacting as if he was frightened and in denial starting yelling back, "I have wondered but I do not care! Go away or I'll make you!"

"Make me!" Gus challenged while hitting his chest with one fist.

"Seismic punch!" The king yelled as he lunged his right fist into Gus' armor, actually causing it to crack. The Saiyans were surprised, even being any kind of a risk to a warrior of Gus' level was truly impressive.

"The guys are totally going to lay into you," Aspari joked to Gus, "you let some nobody crack your armor?"

The king was clearly overmatched, but he was not deterred. "I've got a lot more where that came from!"

"I didn't know there were any Saiyans left with this level of power," Roman was thinking, "Field Marshal Zerstorer will be very pleased. We can actually train him in time for Citadel."

Gus lunged back only to go through the king's afterimage, still hardly taking the battle seriously, he was a sitting duck. "Saw gun!" The king yelled from near the top of the vaulted ceiling, launching many small kienzans at Gus. The ki attacks sliced right through the floor and walls like a hot knife through butter before all of them emerged into a direct hit into Gus. Roman was very impressed while Aspari laughed. Gus was fuming as he had many cuts, even lacerations after the attack. He was about to be fueled into an extreme rage.

"He made you bleed!" Aspari started laughing hysterically.

Roman glared at her, "You should be more mortified than him with your conduct soldier." Aspari's face cleared up instantly.

"At least I can say this," the king laughed, like the Saiyan he never knew he was, "You'll live with this embarrassment for your entire life coward, while I die a hero's death!"

"Yearrrh!" Gus screamed as he instantly transformed into Super Saiyan 3. The king continued to smile and laugh, despite the fact he expected to be dead within seconds.

Gus appeared right in front of him, grabbing his left hand, and crushing it. All the bones broke instantly. The king could not help but yell in pain, while Roman interrupted, "Enough! Stand down solider! We have not come as conquerors but as friends."

Gus instantly reverted to the base as the king quipped, "Some friends!"

"As you see good king," Roman asserted, "we Saiyans are a powerful warrior race. You can assure the eternal protection of your world if you join us in uniting the universe under common leadership. In the Neo-Saiyan army, you'll be treated as an equal to these two soldiers you see beside me. After the universe is united, you can return to your world with the complete assurance of its safety."

"So, if I'm no slave, what makes of the Wirstians I look after?" The king inquired.

"We're not interested in having slaves." Roman assured him, "Only ensuring control of the universe."

"Before I agree to such a crazy proposal," the king snorted, "why would I be so useful to your plan? I'm not even a challenge for one of your men."

"Great fighters are made, not born." Said Roman confidently while crossing his arms, "You see, we have achieved the art of transformation which will increase your power substantially."

"I see." The king gasped, realizing that his opponents could quickly ascend to much higher levels of power.

"Second, we have the abilities to improve your DNA to its pinnacle potential. Your weaknesses will be less pronounced, your strengths will be even greater than your wildest fantasies. Aging can be reversed, lifespans can be extended. You see, I was a scrawny teenager during the great war of our people eighty years ago, yet I am still in my physical prime."

"If you Saiyans are so strong, then why do you need me?" The king questioned, "I'm just sayin'."

Roman boasted, "Imagine a universe controlled by great men and women like you. Saiyans were not just born to fight, we were born to rule! With our friends, the Tuffles, we will have rule over every single living thing. It will be a safer universe for your people, and you."

"If my subjects are safe," the king remarked, almost as if he realized he had little choice in the matter, "I'll join you. I hope to prove helpful to your cause."

"You can be put in peak physical shape in about a week." Aspari informed him, "After that, we'll not have that long to train you for combat, but it will do."

While this was occurring Nach and Zerstorer were sparring in spandex clothing instead of their usual fatigues. They focused less and less on their fight and more on their conversation. It has now got to the point that both of them stopped fighting. Zerstorer did not let his mere officers speak their minds often, he preferred to run a dictatorship. However Nach continued training under his Tuffle master to not only get his word in but to measure up his opponent. He was questioning Zerstorer about getting new recruits this late into the game. They were standing in what seemed like a large grassy field. Green lights were on the tall ceilings while the walls were made of glass, making the nearly pitch-black ocean floor visible. Zerstorer was laughing at what seemed like Nach's legitimate questions and concerns.

Nach, whose black jumpsuit still had the angular "PS" did not quiver, but he was visibly holding back his disgust, "Why are you sending off your sister's boy toy off to get mere foot soldiers? Having a few more grunts on the ground isn't going to increase the chances of Citadel's success."

"You don't understand the fool proof strategy that I've implemented man!" Zerstorer laughed in his plain purple jumpsuit, "If it weren't for us training, I wouldn't allow for you to question my strategy. But since we're talking man to man, there are many things simple Saiyan minds cannot understand. Yes, you got substantially smarter since having your genes mated with those of the Tuffles, but you're still a Saiyan at heart. Like myself, still a Tuffle at heart. Just because I've used Saiyan genes to enhance my abilities, it doesn't stop me from thinking and acting like a Tuffle." Nach was absolutely vexed, his expression offered enough of a response. Zerstorer continued, "When Citadel succeeds, soon the whole universe will be mated with Tuffle DNA, thus subservient to my rule. I get to control the universe while Stuka will succeed in her project of bringing the Tuffles back from extinction."

"Why Citadel…" Nach started to reminisce, "That was the beginning of the end for your kind. It was the final crippling defeat when the Tuffles still had the initiative in the war."

"It was our last chance to win the war before inevitably losing to attrition, though the Tuffle defeat only sped up the process. I chose the name 'Citadel' because the misfortunes of the war will now be reversed. We'll get to know a new universe; a universe where peace reigns and is managed by the wisest of all, Tuffles of course. You should be happy, when Stuka and I pass away, one of your Tuffle descendants will probably be Field Marshal." Zerstorer smiled as if this thought made Nach happy, not realizing that the notion of his de-Saiyanized ancestors is something a Saiyan definitely did not desire.

Back at the lookout, Trunks arrived with Goten and saw a giant surprise. The geriatric Z-Fighter gang was in the midst of training with each other, absolutely stunned, he yelled at a smiling Mr. Popo and proud Dende, "What on green god's Earth is Tien doing here, and Krillin, and… 18—"

"I'm here too!" Master Roshi laughed, "Don't forget about me."

"And Yamcha, of course Yamcha!" Trunks continued to complain while looking at a grey smiling Yamcha, "I know there are going to be bodies on the battlefield, but I don't want to pick up the pieces if you know what I mean!"

"I take offense to that." A wrinkled Chatzou quipped.

"We're trying to prepare as much as possible for the threat we think is coming," said a proud Dende, "I recruited the Z-Fighters myself; an ounce can tip the scales!"

"I know my friends want to help," Trunks tried to empathize, "but their lives are hardly expendable. They'll only get in the way."

Tien, though considerably aged was still an imposing physical specimen, "We're putting our lives on the line to protect the Earth. If the threat is real, we probably won't survive." He put his hand on Trunks' shoulder, "You're welcome."

"You don't have to worry Trunks," Dende reassured him, "Yajirobe and Korin all growing all the senzu beans they can. If this threat is real, it will be a threat we are prepared for!"

Goten appeared not to be worried, as usual, "Hey, why not let them have in on the fun? You worry too much!"

Trunks turned his back on Goten and rolled his eyes, "You don't worry enough!"

"Stress will kill you faster than anyone left to pose a danger to the Earth. We all have something to contribute to the outcome of the battle here!"

The Z Fighters agreed in unison, "Yeah!"


	4. Chapter IV: The Survivors

Chapter IV: The Survivors

A week has passed since Nion left his home world. He was put far underground and shoved into a tank of water. Despite the fact he did not have the ability to move a single muscle, his was conscious the entire time. The week felt like months since he started to lose track of time. He was not sure about his decision when he made it, but now he was definitely regretting it until he felt his own body again and the water started draining from the tank. He opened his eyes a saw a tall beautiful woman in a lab coat with a Saiyan with white armor pressing buttons on the machine in front of the other tanks. The glass dome that was imprisoning him opened and two additional Saiyans with white armor helped dress the disoriented king in tan Saiyan armor, gloves, underwear and boots. The beautiful woman, who was none other than Stuka announced to the crowd, "The gene mating was a 100% success. Follow me to your drill sergeant. He will train you in the fine art of Saiyan combat." Stuka gracefully walked out of the room while seven Saiyans dressed in white armor marched behind her in single file. Nion looked at the other men and women in the room who were about to hesitate, since he was used to taking charge he gestured the other presumably Saiyans to follow him. The hallway seemed like it was a mile long, but the disorienting effects of being left in the dark for a week were still taking their toll for the new Saiyans. They entered a large grassy and bright room with glass walls. Behind the walls was inky black water and some of the wild life suited to live that deep in the ocean. King Nion saw Colonel Roman, who properly introduced himself and his subordinates on their trip back to "New Planet Plant." There were other Saiyan soldiers that the others around the king immediately recognized. These Saiyans and the others with the white armor started to bow as Stuka continued to stand. The well decorated Zerstorer and General Cori walked forward from the distance. The recruits instinctively bowed to their commanders.

"Soldiers," he announced loudly and seriously, "You have agreed to take up arms for the Neo-Saiyan Army for our upcoming Operation Citadel. While your strength has now been enhanced beyond your meek comprehension, we will now train you to harness that strength and to become effective soldiers."

Nion wanted to get up, but he knew getting himself killed for asking something silly could put the lives of the Wirstians he subjected in danger. He thought to himself, "Who is this man, obviously not Saiyan, eliciting this level of fear even over that of Colonel Roman? I couldn't imagine anyone more powerful than him before."

"…You see. I am not a Saiyan. But a Tuffle, one of two survivors of an almost extinct race. While we are unable to procreate, we now have the ability to mate our genes to all the universe's life forms. If every being is a Tuffle, we will no longer be extinct but be the sole lifeforms in the universe! In fact, all of you now are Tuffles. How does it feel to know things you have never known before, to think like an advanced being—"

Another Saiyan recruit who was bowing, while Zerstorer continued to trail on finally had an epiphany, he was thinking to himself "I was never meant to destroy the world I lived in. I was mind controlled as a baby, that's why I was alone!"

A female Saiyan recruit thought up of an epiphany of her own, "Since my hair is blue and all of the other so called Saiyans' hair is black, that means I am a hybrid. I was never told who my father was."

A lot of the Saiyan recruits in the crowd were coming up to their own epiphanies. Zerostorer, who touched the bottom of his finely groomed beard, continued his words, "Tuffles and Saiyans were always meant to live together. Saiyans are to be provided for by their Tuffle masters in exchange for their protection. You see, the relationship is completely symbiotic—"

Another Saiyan recruit smiled while thinking, "Oh, that's what symbiotic means!"

The Saiyan soldiers started to stand up and salute. Nion, deducing that the recruits were to stand up too, got up and saluted while the others followed his lead. General Cori, whose beauty was enough to establish the control of every Saiyan in the crowd started yelling to the recruits, "You are now going to take the oath to our Masters, the Tuffles." With Tuffle blood now flowing through their veins, somehow they did not feel the obvious need to resist taking the oath. She yelled, "I SWEAR!"

"I SWEAR…" the recruits repeated.

"BY THIS SACRED OATH!"

"BY THIS SACRED OATH…" the recuits continued to repeat.

General Cori continued the oath while the recruits repeated what she said as she paused, "that to the Master of the Saiyan race… Zerstorer, supreme commander of the Neo-Saiyan Army… I shall render unconditional obedience… and that as a brave soldier… I shall at all times… be prepared… to give my life… for this oath."

When the day was over, it was difficult to tell when it was night, the recruits went to their barracks and mulled the day and their lives over. They were quite conscious of the fact that they were not brainwashed into taking the oath to the Tuffles, but that it felt like they made a decision that was second nature to them.

"Back where I came from I was a King," said Nion, who even after this short period of time was feeling his identity slip away from him, "I'm almost surprised I came here. I'm lucky I did."

"King of where?" asked another Saiyan, whose appearance was completely average, wondering about Nion's not so humble beginnings.

"King of Planet Nion, I assume I named it after myself in arrogance." The Saiyan introspected, "I don't understand how I can spend almost sixty years somewhere before finding out I was actually a part of an alien super-race that was dispersed all over the universe as infants to conquer backwater planets."

"I'm Articho," said the other Saiyan, "Like you I have no idea who named me or who I was until a week or however long ago it was. I lived a nice quiet life as a mercenary. I had a lot of, ahem, employers who would refer to me as a Saiyan. I thought it was some kind of slur… I always thought Saiyans had a tail, I never had one as far as I remember."

"I've done years as a bounty huntress," said a short female hybrid Saiyan waving her blue hair, "I had a lot of jobs for a Don Kee—"

"I worked for him too!" Articho exclaimed excitedly.

"I lost my job to one named Ledgic. I couldn't believe there could be someone as powerful as him after Frieza died; his power was incredible. I continued to train ever since then to become stronger than him. I spent most of my years after that only working occasionally, money never mattered to me. I don't know about Tuffles, taking over the universe, or whatever great cause I volunteered to be a part of… I came here to fight." Most of the Saiyans in the barracks muttered in agreement.

"Who are you?" Nion asked.

"My name is Dorthea," she responded in disgust, "Obviously I never had a Saiyan name or knew who my father was. He was probably some waste of life."

"Be careful," Articho joked, "He may unknowingly be one of your commanding officers!"

During the following two days the Saiyans continued to be trained in proper Saiyan combat. With the short time span there could not be a lot of fine tuning; the training involved a lot dangerous combat and made frequent use of high speed medical machines. The amount of zenkais received from the Saiyans was innumerable. When the Saiyan recruits brought their power close to its natural limits, Roman knew they were ready to be instructed on the art of transformation.

"You will not have much use in combat without the act of transformation! Saiyan tactics for centuries relied upon transformation to gain the upper hand in battle. This transformation, triggered by the appearance of the full-moon was known as the Great Ape Oozaru. This made the Saiyan's power increase ten-fold according to legend but it had extreme drawbacks. If you ever had the misfortune of experiencing this transformation, you remember that it takes less than ten seconds for you to lose consciousness of your actions. After that, you pose a danger to yourself, your comrades, and worst of all the planet you are standing on right now! Advanced training techniques and technologies have mitigated the need to risk using a transformation that cannot be controlled and prohibits controlled military communication. If you ever do get sight of the full-moon, whether it be a satellite or something completely artificial, use what's left of your free will to pull out your tail. It will hurt, but it may be the difference between living and dying. I do not know of one Saiyan who has ever gained control of the form." Many Saiyans' tails seemed to puff up in fear, almost as an act of their own free-will.

King Nion looked at the ground in disgust, finally realizing he was himself the Oozaru who almost destroyed his world. He thought to himself, "So the legendary Oozaru I banished by destroying the moon was none other than I."

"The first logical and hardest to achieve transformation is called the 'Super Saiyan.' This is achieved by tapping into your need for power that you do not have, and it is unleashed by the anger of not having this power. Now, we will be using much more of our power when fighting you in order for you to achieve this transformation. You will be pushed to your limits, emotionally and physically. You will be pushed so hard, you may die."

"I'd rather die than not have this power!" A Saiyan yelled out with an uncharacteristic lack of discipline, Roman and the recruits knew that everyone agreed with him.

"I don't think anyone disagrees with him… Drill Sergeants, commence training the recruits, they have two days to achieve the transformation or they will be relegated to non-combat duty."

Most of the Saiyans shuttered at the thought of being relegated to non-combat duty, so they were eager achieve this transformation despite the complete brutality of their current training pushing their level of power far past what they have imagined. It was intriguing to know that they were only going to get far stronger and the training was going to get far more difficult. Due to disparity in power, the commanding officers were able to convincingly over-power twelve of their cadets a piece. It did not take long for many of the Saiyans to believe they were facing a fate worse than death; being weak. It was incredibly embarrassing to brought to the brink of death in mere seconds while your subordinates were still up and fighting. It did not help that Roman and the other commanding officers mocked the near-dying cadets who could not continue. However this was by design, they had to get their cadets angry enough and needy enough to achieve the transformation.

After a long day, Roman was walking back to his quarters as he ran into Nach. Despite their palpable relationship due to Roman's marriage with his Tuffle master, they always ribbed each other as brothers.

"Are you getting tired of those weaklings yet?" Nach chided Roman, "I doubt none of those newbies would ever become any useful for the Proctection Squadron. You train them far too easy, many more of my cadets died years ago."

Roman responded confidently, "General Cori wants to have as many useful soldiers as possible rather than maybe three or four prodigies. I have no doubt many of my cadets are capable of reaching levels of power unheard of but that will take decades of training. I only have two more days to complete their training for Citadel."

"You are far too concerned with what she thinks," Nach laughed , "that lady will do anything to please the Field Marshal. Rumor has it she has only ever put the effort to approach my level of power as an attempt to please him."

Roman was disgusted, "Whether your accusation of her motivations are true or not, she is still my commanding officer and all of us in the Neo-Saiyan army understand that the chain of command is an unbreakable chain for the greater good of the Saiyan race."

Nach lacked the same level of discipline as his brother, "Hmmmmph! The greater good you say? That's something completely subjective. The greater good is if you are as powerful as I, you get to do what you want, when your want to do it."

"I don't think you ever understood the concept."

"Understand this, while your cannon fodder regiments are doomed to die in the opening stages of the operation, the Protection Squadron has been given the task of destabilizing the Planet Trade Empire. Our meteorologists have scouted the wind patterns of the universe's most significant worlds. Over fifty percent of the universe will be Tuffles within the month. The weak must die to make room for the strong. How many of your pathetic Saiyans have even achieved that lousy Super Saiyan 1?"

Roman defended his soldiers, "Two thirds of the cadets have transformed to Super Saiyan, with six of them achieving Super Saiyan 2 already. They won't have the time to perfect Super Saiyan 2 so we will probably have a dozen cadets able to achieve Super Saiyan 3 by tomorrow."

"If you pushed those worms harder you would have two dozen Super Saiyan 2's." Nach crossed his arms.

"And the others dead, right?" Roman responded facetiously.

"It would serve them right." Nach disagreed. "A Saiyan lives and dies by his strength, the weak die to make room for the strong."

"For someone who hates the Tuffles with every bone in his body, you certainly do act like a Tuffle." Roman spat out with vitriol.

Nach took a step closer, "You wouldn't feel so comfortable with them if you didn't sleep next to one every night the last eighty years."

"You forget, if you were not my brother you would have never lived. You would have felt the wrath of Frieza with the Saiyan race if it weren't for myself convincing you to get off that rock with the permission of the Tuffles."

Nach crossed his arms, "I only agreed to come here because of the thought that those two had the ability to enhance my power of the likes of Frieza. Little did I know I would spend decades floating in space while Kakarot who was barely a fraction of my power masqueraded himself as the strongest on Earth."

Roman looked at his brother like he was an idiot, "If we would have took the Earth by force we would have attracted the attention of Frieza decades earlier, and be hunted down like dogs."

Nach opened the door to his room, and before departing he quipped mysteriously one more time, "That tail… If you were only able to keep it, I would be able to show you how to become a true Saiyan again."

Meanwhile, Vegeta and Freon were training on a range of icy mountains. In the short period of time they had Vegeta was able to have Freon fight Vegeta's base form on equal footing. "Arcosians are fast learners!" Vegeta was impressed while taking swings and kicks at Freon.

"You learn quickly yourself," Freon responded equally impressed while trying to jab Vegeta with his fists and tail, "You are much more powerful now." Vegeta responded by trying to punch Freon in the face. His hand seemed to hit an invisible wall, like a force field.

Vegeta felt his fist being held by a strong hand, despite his opponent clearly not holding him. "Very well then, I'll take it to 100%." Vegeta instantly transformed into Super Saiyan 2 and punched Freon through a range of mountains. He got up and put both of his hands in the air as Vegeta lunged at him through the smoke and holes in the mountains. While Vegeta got a lot of vicious blows in a Kienzan disc was flying straight behind him and cut his back before Freon stopped it with his hands, "It is powerful enough now…"

Vegeta sweated before transforming back into his base and the Kienzan disappeared. He did not know what hit him, literally. Freon took his finger and shown Vegeta his blood. "What's that?" Vegeta said, almost angrily.

"My technique, it has become powerful enough to defeat the Saiyan." Freon said impressed, "Now the Kienzan will be strong enough to cut him in two."

Vegeta smiled, "Your Destructo Disc is quite useful. It is hard to detect the ki while fighting you. But I would not take much comfort in a trick play in the heat of battle. I'm a lot different when I fight seriously."

"I'm years away from fighting that type of power with my fists," Freon responded seriously, "But if he is unwise, I have a chance of protecting our worlds with a good blindside attack. All I have to do is create the Kienzan behind him. However, the further away I create it from myself, the weaker my attack will be."

"Very well then," Vegeta said relieved, "We can get back to Capsule Corp and have some well-deserved rest. I would love to know where this Saiyan came from." It did not take long for Freon and Vegeta to fly back to Capsule Corp, where Bulla and Bulma were waiting for them.

"I had them put up dinner," Bulma waved at them and smiled.

Vegeta smiled at the thought of his loving wife taking care of everything for him while he was gone until he suddenly looked around at the bushes and shrubbery, they were obviously not manicured. The floor was obviously not waxed this week. He even saw a burnt out light bulb. Vegeta's face turned blue, and he thought to himself angrily about Beerus and Whis, "While the cat's away, the mice be playing!"

The bloodied up Vegeta and Freon were eating with Vegeta's family. Bulma broke the ice by asking how it went, she was optimistic that both of them achieved their training objectives. "It could have not been more successful," Freon responded, "The prince will be able to fight the threat on equal footing if he comes here. He will likely become more powerful than him, since your husband is diligent in his training."

Vegeta uncharacteristically put his arm around the Arcosian, "He's not too bad himself, much better than I expected! He has a trick or two up his sleeve."

"There's one fact I don't understand," Bulla pointed out, "If Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta, where's this Saiyan coming from?"

Vegeta looked at Freon for the answer since he did not want to speculate. "That is a good question," Freon pointed out, "but an easy one to answer since during the height of King Vegeta's empire, they were launching thousands of infants to unknown worlds."

Vegeta nodded since this made sense, "These infants could not have died in Planet Vegeta's explosion, since they were sent to these new worlds."

"That's correct," Freon agreed, then added, "while scores of the Saiyans defected back to the Planet Trade Organization or were rounded up and executed after the termination of Frieza's relationship with King Vegeta, it is likely that there were thousands of Saiyans scattered across the universe that were never found. Many probably have died of age or natural causes, but others probably never knew they were Saiyan and simply populated with that world's species, like Kakarot."

"Didn't the spacecraft exhibit some form of mind control with the Saiyans?" Bulma correctly pointed out, remembering if it were not for Goku hitting his head he would have eliminated the Earth's population.

"It did," the Arcosian responded, "but the older a Saiyan gets the more likely he questions his mission. With many of the Saiyans that my men found and extradited back to Frieza, many adolescents questioned whether or not the mission and the Saiyan race were purely fictional. I'm sure the Saiyans still alive do not have any knowledge of their ancestry."

Bulla always wondered that to herself, she spoke, "Even if that world's population was destroyed, a Saiyan must get to the point that he is truly there on his own. If no one is telling him his mission has been accomplished after ten, twenty, thirty or more years, then the mission no longer exists."

"That is true," Freon agreed, "that was always something interesting to think about. However, King Vegeta and Frieza hardly considered their soldiers' psychological conditions."

Vegeta could care less about psychological conditions, "So, if there are Saiyans still alive, how would one of them become this powerful?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Freon's tail wagged in the hole in his seat between the bottom and the back support.

Bulla had the opportunity to learn about the Saiyan race since she had one of the associates of Frieza sitting right in front of her. Her father was always evasive, and sometimes dishonest. She had a safe opportunity to ask, "What was Planet Vegeta like before it was destroyed?" Vegeta clenched his teeth while his daughter looked at Freon.

"Ah, Planet Vegeta." Freon remembered, then looked at Vegeta for permission to proceed. Vegeta tacitly approved the conversation, "that world was murderous and wicked long before the Saiyan Revolution. When the god of destruction Beerus permitted Frieza to destroy that world it was long overdue. Whatever happened to him…"

Vegeta was at first furious, then mortified, with a giant bead of sweat on his head he yelped, "Go on!"

"The world was war torn until the so called Great Tuffle King came to power. I was never sure of his name because his reign started before I was born, but he was considered omnipotent in that world. He supposedly reigned almost a thousand years, but I wasn't sure whether or not he simply had his descendants assume his identity to ensure continuity of the Regime. Whoever this king was, he did bring a thousand years of relative peace to his world, since the gods always looked favorably on him for some reason. He assured peace through extinction; the king felt homogenizing the race and the culture prevented internal strife. If Tuffles did not have different thoughts and ideals, they could unite behind a common banner. Surely, this was done to secure his grip on the planet. I remember that the Saiyans were brought over to that world to help the labor shortages created due to the persecution and execution of the various Tuffle ethnicities. They were quickly enslaved and 'miseducated' of their inferior standing in the society. However that did not mean there were not ethnic Tuffle minority survivors as long as they assimilated to the culture and accepted the king's rule. I know of this due to knowing of two Tuffle officers in Frieza's ranks. One, a Lieutenant, who was over seven feet tall, was obviously a Tuffle. He was like so many other of Frieza's men, he felt nothing of killing thousands and getting worlds ready, ahem, for sale. The other, who was a bit taller than you Vegeta, was a high ranking scientist, who helped implement and develop technologies brought to Frieza from the Saiyan race. Obviously these were Tuffle technologies. I remember her name due to the advances she brought to the Planet Trade, but Lieutenant Stuka was responsible for enhancing our healing technologies by incorporating artificial DNA with the process, healing most of our wounded soldiers within the same day, eventually within hours. Frieza's empire swelled past the point he could afford to control it. Its overextension was the only thing that slowed down Frieza's appetite for more and more territory."

While Bulla took interest in the bureaucratic aspects of Frieza's empire her father gave little thought to that, rather reacting predictably to the fact that there were Tuffles that survived the war. "What!" Vegeta was furious, "There were Tuffle survivors? How?"

"Like the Saiyans," Freon assumed, "Frieza must have felt a reason to hold on to a few survivors of an extinct race."

"There could have been two of them, I remember, this was long after my home was destroyed. I saw them talking about a project while I lay in the medical machine after one of my most difficult fights; they thought I was unconscious."

"You known of them?" Freon questioned, surprised.

"I could never forget the sight, but it's now that I realize that they must've been Tuffles the entire time…" Vegeta started thinking as the others trailed on. He was remembering his most difficult battle of his youth, it was the first time his status as a prodigy was challenged. He already knew he was not at the same level as Frieza's henchmen, like Zarbon, Dodoria, and Kui, but even as a teenager he was among the empire's ten strongest warriors. In order to increase the profits for him and his Saiyan comrades, they decided to conquer three planets simultaneously. While Planet Grain on paper was a tougher nut to crack than the other two, it was only supposed to take a day to take control of. As Vegeta's space pod descended to the grassy world, the Grain armed forces reacted immediately. It took all but three ki blasts to destroy their army, their aircraft, and their fighting warriors. What was supposed to take hours now took minutes. Vegeta was satisfied with his power, but he was bored at the fact that his Saiyan limits were hardly ever tested other than in training situations. Suddenly, his feeling of boredom ceased when his scouter read a five-figure power. "Impossible." Vegeta thought. "There's no one this powerful left in the universe still alive." Suddenly, the reading went back down to an undetectable level before the warrior re-emerged. Unlike other warriors Vegeta faced before, this one appeared as having a paltry power level on his scouter before multiplying his power at will. Without thinking, both of them lunged furiously into battle. The destruction of chains of mountains and cities happened casually, great badlands became grand canyons. The speed this warrior exhibited was unbelievable Vegeta thought. The Saiyan smiled, he finally had a rival, not that of Frieza but someone that challenged him on an equal footing. Vegeta never took on this kind of challenge before, they exchanged punches, kicks, and small ki blasts. They were fighting toe to toe. Both of them were getting bloody in a hurry. "Your power!" Vegeta yelled at his adversary, "it's amazing!"

"Warriors as strong as I simply don't exist." He responded arrogantly, "In maybe ten minutes, when you are dead, it will continue to be that way."

Vegeta focused his vision to get a better look at the face of his threat, "You talk real big! Can you tell me, who am I about to kill?"

"I am Starlch and I protect this world," The black haired humanoid smiled, "not that you will live much longer to remember that." He looked almost like Kakarot, Vegeta remembered.

"You won't protect this world for long," Vegeta crossed his arms, "You see, I am a warrior elite. Prince Vegeta of the Saiyan race, the most powerful warrior-race in the universe. I have come to take control of your world, and wipe out of its… vermin."

"The Saiyans, the Tuffles' slave monkeys?" Starlch laughed, "Did they give you a day off from the work camps?"

Vegeta was visibly irritated at this lasting reputation of the Saiyan race, "No! There are no Tuffle survivors left!" Vegeta raged, catching Starlch off-guard and flinging him into a large skyscraper, which caved in on top of him. Starlch yelled and the rubble exploded; he multiplied his power yet again, gaining the advantage over Vegeta. Vegeta's armor started cracking from the ki blasts he was taking; his face was bloody and swollen from the blows Starlch was able to land on him. Vegeta activated his scouter, something he learned was becoming more and more useless due to powerful warriors usually having irregular readings. "What, 13,000? How can this kind of power level exist, it's unreal!"

Starlch tried to shoot off the scouter with his eye lasers but failed, this gave Vegeta the initiative allowing him to injure Starlch with many punches and blasts. By this point, the city was all but destroyed. He started powering up his strongest attack, "Your abilities impress me, but I have not shown you the complete extant of my capabilities." Starlch yelled, "I will wipe you off the face of this planet!"

Vegeta knew at this point to go to his trump card. If he did not charge his attack and simply tried to lunge at Starch, it would be like taking an artillery shell to the face. "Have it your way then, I guess I was having too much fun. So die now if you want to!" With his feet on the ground, he concentrated his maximum power into his greatest attack, "Gallic Gun, fire!"

"Ha!" Starlch yelled launching his own green wave of energy. The beams hit each other and crackled, the ground below was disintegrating due to the huge output of power. At first, both of them were equally matched, but Starlch's technique seemed to drain his ki faster.

Vegeta looked into the eyes of his opponent, and realized he finally gained the upper hand. Vegeta knew if he let go, if he gave any less effort to his Gallic Gun he would be overwhelmed in seconds. Slowly but surely, the Gallic Gun started getting closer and closer to Starlch. "I'm lucky," Vegeta thought, "He's at the end of his rope." Inevitably the Gallic Gun consumed Starlch's body, then finally exploded. The crater must have been a mile deep, water started rise up from the cracks in the ground. Vegeta panted, and simply collapsed on the ground. He did not remember a single thing after that until he regained consciousness in the medical machine. He laid his eyes on what he thought was a lab tech, looking at her was about the only good thing there was about getting severe injuries. She stood tall with Planet Trade armor and a white lab suit hanging down until the chest plate of the armor. Her micro-braids were held up with a hair clip in order to prevent them from getting in the way of her work.

"The synthetic Saiyan DNA is not only making him heal quicker, he has also become much stronger." She said to an audience of no-one, or so she thought. Vegeta held his eyes shut once again. She looked at Vegeta's physique, which was very thin but still impressive. "Hmmm! No wonder why the Prince never settles down, ow!" She smiled. She seemed to continue to glance at Vegeta whenever she used the keyboards or the other computers connected to the machine.

"Lieutenant," Malaka walked in authoritatively, "what's the Prince's status?"

"Condition stabilized Colonel," she responded, "He'll be back in fighting condition in two hours."

"Two hours? He was put into the machine three hours ago, how will he be making a full recovery in two more hours?" Malaka scolded, obviously not having a whole lot of respect for her.

"The incorporation of artificial Saiyan DNA into the healing fluid not only speeds up the process, but he has become somewhat stronger somehow."

"Stronger by the virtue of synthetic DNA? Is that what you have been working on so far away from here? Increased power may only be achieved through cybernetics." Malaka turned around, flipping his cape, "This Saiyan rapidly progressing in power is something you should bring to the attention of Lord Frieza. I feel that what you are doing on that outpost so far away from here is worthy of the scientific council's attention."

"Don't worry I will." She responded under authority before Malaka walked away, "Bird brain. If he ever had any idea how these Saiyans become stronger after each fight, it'd amaze me. Like my tests back home have proven, every time a Saiyan steps into the machine and absorbs the enhanced DNA, he becomes even stronger than before!"

Vegeta remembered her recording many of her findings, even mentioning adjustments she would have to make 'back home' wherever that was. An hour later, the door slid open again. "Stuka," a deep voice yelled, "Lord Frieza wants to see you right now; it's not good."

"Zerstorer," she responded calmly as he ran in wearing a purple jumpsuit and black Saiyan armor, "you're breathing as if there's something to worry about."

"It's about the Saiyan... Oh, wow." Zerstorer then laid his eyes back on his sister rather than Vegeta's body, "Frieza wants to know how Prince Vegeta became so powerful."

"He should be happy Zero," Stuka snapped back, "If Frieza was so scared man, he'd kill Vegeta with us in the room right now. Frieza's probably going to congratulate me for making Vegeta stronger than before and increase funding for our project. After all, Vegeta is Frieza's favorite." Stuka suddenly regained her composure and took the clip out her hair, subsequently flipping it, "Frieza's rather fond for me as well." Zerstorer looked back at his sister in disbelief while sweating.

Both of them started to walk out of the room, Zerstorer looked at his sister incredulously, "Kiki, he seems to be only one here fond of you—" The door slid closed behind them.

Vegeta started groaning in the present day and yelled at the table out of nowhere. "How could've I been so foolish to believe that all of the Tuffles have died! There they were, looking right at me. They looked like Tuffles; they were sneaky like Tuffles. Was their extinction simply wishful thinking from my father?"

Bulla looked over at him stunned, as if he interrupted the entire table and responded, "Your father wished for what?"

"Vegeta!" Freon scolded, surprised at what just happened, "We stopped talking about that ten minutes ago!" Vegeta calmly apologized across the table.

After Vegeta's family finished eating, Freon walked down the hall and noticed what he feared the most. He bent over on one knee and bowed. "Lord Beerus!" He panted, "What are you doing here? Please don't do anything to the Earth!"

Beerus and Whis were waxing the floor in tan workers' uniforms until Beerus realized that this Arcosian still didn't know of his demoted status. "I, Lord Beerus, permit you to speak." He said regally.

"Lord Beerus…" Freon quivered, "I hate to ask, but, are you waxing the floor? With a floor buffer? I can, I mean, any of us can have this floor waxed in a second with telekinesis. I can help…"

Whis smiled and Beerus jumped on the opportunity, "I'm here, to uh… Give Prince Vegeta orders, I mean directives! That's why you may see us here, uh, so much. Yes…"

"Okay." Freon responded, instantly waxing the floor with just his mind.

"No, no!" Beerus scolded, "The Prince will be upset."

"What, I don't understand Lord Beerus." Freon responded, confused.

"You know what?" Beerus fronted, "I think the Earth's time has run out, don't you think Whis?" Whis nodded to keep up the charade. "So…" Beerus instantly made the floor scratched and dirty, "You are going to have to clean and wax the floor, with the buffing machine. If you do, I _may_ spare the Earth… and your home world!"

"With pleasure Lord Beerus!" Freon responded in fear.

Beerus and Whis scooted away, while Beerus was laughing in his thoughts, "I may be down but not out. The god of destruction is not out of tricks yet!"


	5. Chapter V: The First Super Saiyan

Chapter V: The First Super Saiyan

Meanwhile, Roman was working one on one with King Nion, who has yet to ascend to Super Saiyan despite the time for training almost running out. "Feel your anger, feel it burn. become one with it!" Roman yelled, "Let it loose, you can't control it!"

Nion could not bring himself to transform. He stopped and came humble to Roman, "I'm sorry Colonel, I'm going to be of little use to the operation; I'm too weak."

"You are the only Saiyan yet to transform." Roman said disappointedly, then encouraged him, "but I wouldn't be here if I didn't think you could do it!"

"How?" Nion asked, "How did you obtain the transformation? Was it during training, in a battle, did you face an enemy so powerful that—?"

"Actually, it happened when I least expected it. Let's take a break." Both Roman and Nion sat down on the grass. Nion looked at how the artificial wind was blowing Roman's hair as he started to look at the ocean floor seriously. "It was a long time coming I guess, Tuffles and Saiyans didn't always get along."

"That is one thing about our history I am confused of," Nion but in to Roman, "If the Tuffles are our friends, why did the Saiyan race exterminate them? Why did we in turn become Tuffles?"

"Tuffles themselves were not evil, but their King and his henchmen were wicked. They were like gangsters, somehow only the most morally vile enjoyed power on Planet Plant. Tuffles like Zerstorer and Stuka were not thought highly of. Despite Tuffles coming in all colors, shapes, and sizes, Planet Plant had a strict caste system; one that always elevated the shortest but most numerous of the Tuffle races. In fact, when the King came to power, he realized that there would always be infighting in his world. So, he implemented a sterilization program, or population control for many lower castes. The lower castes always did all the work, but they did not earn enough to support themselves. Most sterilized themselves to eat, only maybe the most successful business owners, politicians, military officers, and scientists' lineages got to live on. There was an unsaid understanding that in order to live on, you had to obey the 'god King.' With their ranks of workers depleted, labor problems were solved by bringing over the entire Saiyan race, wholesale, to do all the menial work. To prevent the problem of another disgruntled underclass, it became illegal to educate a Saiyan."

Nion continued to listen, "Why was it illegal to educate a Saiyan?"

"It's one of those self-fulfilling prophecies," Roman scoffed at the notion, "Tuffles were educated of the Saiyans' simian-like thought process, and inability to learn. Saiyans were simply animals to them. In order to reinforce this notion, a Saiyan couldn't be taught how to read or to do mathematics. Saiyans didn't have any desire to be educated and kept themselves distracted simply by fighting each other. That all started to change in the regime's last 100 years, the Vegeta clan, who were secretly educated by their sympathetic Tuffle captors, who in turn escaped and started a resistance movement in the badlands."

"Oh, so Vegeta's bloodline like I learned about." Nion caught on.

"Yes. For the first fifty years, the Tuffle King and his propaganda magnates kept claiming their attacks were false, exaggerated, or natural phenomena. Take your pick. Until the day occurred that the Tuffles were going to war against the Saiyan race, when suddenly all of these events were blamed on the Saiyans. The first Tuffle-Saiyan war ended in crippling defeat for the Saiyans, who ran into belts of organized Tuffle defenses and lost their weight of numbers in hours. There was peace for maybe twenty years. However, the second Tuffle-Saiyan war was not going as well. The Tuffles went onto the offensive from the jump, killing and capturing a close to a million Saiyans effortlessly. But, the Tuffle army lacked the ability to make the strategic knock-out blow to put an end to King Vegeta's armies once and for all. They were hoping to develop radical technologies to achieve this because economically and quantitatively they could not hold out for much longer."

"We're going to the Wolf's Lair," a grizzled Tuffle General said to his well-dressed family in their hover vehicle with a modicum of fear. He was an average height, which would make him very tall on Planet Plant. "I'm hoping to convince the King to allow the assault on the Saiyan salient now, that way they are less prepared to meet us."

"The King is wisely waiting for the technological reinforcements to come," his wife almost quoted word from word from a propaganda news bite. She was herself a little bit taller than her husband and had her hair neatly in dreadlocks. "The Tuffle Forces do not have the boots on the ground to knock out the Saiyan army without them, Grief."

Grief felt insulted that a scientist was insinuating she had more military knowledge than him due to regurgitating propaganda, "Blits, my men are barely holding onto the initiative. If we don't attack, we will lose a war of attrition with the Saiyans. They keep bringing up fresh kids to the front, and we don't have enough men and women to hold blasters against them."

"Daddy?" A teenaged Stuka with her relaxed hair cut asymmetrically asked from the back seat, "Are we going to lose?"

"That's crazy talk," A youthful Zerstorer yelled in full military uniform with his arm in a sling (as medical machines developed at this point could not instantly heal broken bones,) the only reason why he was not at the front at that moment. "None of us think those stinking apes have the intelligence or the gumption to beat Tuffle Forces. If the full moon didn't arrive during our most major defeat, the Saiyan army would have collapsed."

"No matter what there always seems to be more Saiyans Zero, they never run out." She started to bicker.

"Quiet!" Grief yelled from the driver's seat, "Our family has a tenuous reputation to uphold. We have to put on our best faces for the King, or else."

The scientific community, more like a mad science community on Planet Plant, embraced Grief's family. Dr. Lychee and Dr. Blits had a friendly rivalry. "Maybe I should make a weapon powered by sheer absurdity!" Dr. Blits laughed, poking fun at his Hatchiyak project.

"Your Machine Mutant project is completely defeatist! What good is creating technologies that can only be utilized after the Saiyans somehow defeat us in the war?" Dr. Lychee pointed out.

"Mind uploading and genetic-mechanical technologies already exist." Dr. Blits prided, "Hatchiyak implements too many untested technologies. My baby may even make an impact in the near future."

"We need bigger guns, more guns, lighter guns," said the sensible Dr. Tanjereen, "The rest of these wonder-weapons are the reason why we can never muster the resources to win the war."

Afterwards, the family walked up to say their regards to the King and his henchmen. They were twisted individuals. "I see she's growing up nicely." Said Vurger, a portly Tuffle wearing a tan uniform with the Tuffle insignia: black, white, and red stipes going diagonally. He was the commander of the planet's aerial weapons, "She can almost pass as a woman right now. But that's okay with me."

"Their kind is almost as mindless as those Saiyan monkeys," Schwalbe noted while putting his hand in his black uniform which had a skull and crossbones insignia, "I'm certain they have computer implants because they wouldn't capable of logical and intellectual reasoning themselves."

The King, with his plain uniform spoke, quieting his henchmen, "I have little respect for them myself, but they are the means to an end. I need those two to defeat our Saiyan enemies. As long as he can command men, and she can churn out cybernetic technologies I can care less how little they think or feel on the inside. Plus, they worship me!"

Grief bowed down to the King and his henchmen, "My King, my lord." His family bowed down behind him.

"General Grief," said Spatz, a skinny Tuffle with a tan uniform with a Tuffle crest who was in charge of 'making the news,' "I hear there is good news at the front." It was obvious he was fishing for only a positive response.

"…Our men are in good spirits," said Grief now standing, "They still have the fanatical belief that the Saiyan army is one defeat away from collapse." Somehow his insult was deemed acceptable.

"Operation Citadel will be that knockout blow," Vurger prided excitedly, "Do you feel that the preparations suffice?"

Grief thought about the fact that the Tuffle forces were now at their point of shrinking. The husbanding of other fronts to get the numbers back up to where they belonged for this offensive operation left the Tuffles in a precarious position. Even after achieving this, the amount of the Saiyans they were up against was always far larger than what they prepared for. Now, they were getting smarter, more prepared, and worst yet far stronger from years of consistent combat. To attack now, before fully prepared was dangerous. However on the other side of the token, the Saiyans only gained the advantage further by waiting. He did not like his chances, but he would rather take them now. "Most Generals including myself and our men are ready to commence the operation now, possibly catching the Saiyans off guard because they expect us to take time to continue to reinforce the sector."

Schwalbe simply responded the opposite due to his contempt, "I think we should wait to give time for the new weapons to reach the front. Our resolve is strong enough to face any Saiyan preparations. Their simple minds will not see it coming no matter how long we wait."

Grief knew his place in society, knowing no amount of arguing would change the minds of leadership and high command, "I understand."

Stuka was enraged at watching her father get disrespected, again, and looked at her brother's broken arm before storming in front of her father, she unwisely started yelling at the King and his henchmen, "Can't you see that the Saiyans aren't stupid? If they were so stupid they would've surrendered two years ago! More Tuffles will die if this continues, we can't win!"

The King and his henchmen were stunned, Stuka smiled as she succeeded in unnerving them. But in that instant Zerostorer violently grabbed Stuka with his other arm while her mother slapped her hard in the face in front of all to see. Blits was hoping this appearance of embarrassing and punishing his daughter would spare her.

The King finally walked forward to speak, "Do you forget that I am a god?" Grief and Blits trembled before them and bowed, in an attempt to beg for forgiveness.

Zerstorer looked at his sister, "Don't mind her, she has been affected at me coming home with an injury. She's just angry at the Saiyans."

"Private," the King spoke to Zerstorer, "Execute her." Zerstorer, without hesitation outwardly raised his small laser weapon at Stuka, hoping to prove his loyalty to the King.

"Are you sure your highness?" Vurger questioned due to not wanting him to kill his sister.

"You heard him Lieutenant," Shwalbe said to the point of almost yelling, "Execute her."

Zerstorer started to tear up. Anyone in his right mind would not shoot his sister he thought. Stuka was kneeling, with her tears soaking the ground. However, Zerstorer's logical mind was getting the best of him. If he does not shoot his sister like the King asks, his whole family would be killed. Likely, his whole extended family as well. And to make things worse, his sister would still die. "I'm… sorry. I know you understand." Zerstorer said to his sister when he was about to pull the trigger.

"No! No! The King is great and his mercy is great," Blits appealed, "Take me. Take me. I'll take Stuka's punishment in her place. Please don't kill her, please." She was willing to do anything to spare her daughter.

Zerstorer stopped in an instant and was shocked, he looked at the King, "My mercy is very great. Very well, private, you know what to do." The tears in Zerstorer's face started to stream down uncontrollably.

"It's okay." Blits said to her son, "You're doing the right thing. I love you." Before she could say goodbye to her daughter and husband, Zerstorer shot her in front of the King and his henchmen. They stood there and guffawed, as such entertainment could not be scripted they thought.

Zerstorer looked at his father, who offered no reaction, he simply flipped his cape in the air and started leaving. Before Zerstorer and Stuka could follow behind him Schwalbe yelled, "Not so fast... Men!"

Zerstorer was raging on the inside, he was almost at the point that he had nothing to lose. "I already killed my mother, the next laser goes between the King's eyes!"

"The king is merciful, but that does not mean that this little witch here didn't commit a great crime to the Regime. Guards!" Schwalbe yelled as several armed Tuffles in black uniforms came by, "Imprison this girl for her subversive language to the King and the Regime. Don't worry," now all the henchmen were laughing, "she'll live."

Despite them being shorter than Stuka, it did not take long for the guards to beat her down and drag her away in chains. Grief, demoralized, only could muster one statement to his son, "It's time to go." Both of them walked away defeated.

Back in the present, Nion was shocked, even disgusted, "Zerstorer killed his own mother? I have never known mine, but, why would he do that?"

Roman looked back with his sad brown-black eyes, "Rememeber, everyone was taught to obey the King. Even everyone in the lower caste thought of him as a god. Like the King promised, Stuka lived. She was a model inmate, and despite her personal interest being in genetics she had a knack for fixing the machines and robots in the facility. Zerstorer on the other hand, after the Tuffle Forces got crushed in Operation Citadel, was captured by the Saiyans. After weeks in brutal Saiyan captivity, it did not take long for him to make his escape. Unbeknownst to the Saiyans he had ki control, and was able to kill two low level Saiyan guards with blasts to the back of their heads, and escape with a dozen other Tuffles easily. Instead of making his way back to Tuffle-City, to await his execution, he journeyed in the vast extant of space before his forced-landing on Planet Frieza."

In the past on Planet Frieza, the highest ranking officer who would even waste a minute on random aliens was Lieutenant Appule. He laughed at seeing a tall skinny man and a dozen others half his height. It did not take long for Zerstorer to gauge how desperate the situation has become, and betray his men and women, "I am Zerstorer, a bounty hunter. I have captured a dozen Tuffles. I understand that their bounty is low, but beggars cannot be choosers."

"You snake!" Yelled one of the Tuffles.

"Quiet Kliminteen, uh, you!" Zerstorer's face turned blue but Appule did not catch on. Appule was too foolish to realize he was negotiating with a Tuffle, one wearing the same tattered military uniform as the others, due to the stereotype of the Tuffles being so short.

"Very well," Appule said, "We'll extinguish these… vermin. Frieza only wants to negotiate with the Saiyans anyway. Their strength can make them very useful to the empire."

It did not take long for Zerstorer to play the game, sign up for the Planet Trade Organization and join the ruthless men of Frieza's army in committing war crimes throughout the galaxy. Every warrior he killed, every man, woman, and child, every planet he destroyed, made him stronger. General Zarbon took great notice of how rapidly Zerstorer's star was rising. As his commanding officers and his fellow soldiers continued to die, Zerstorer earned several promotions before Zarbon himself promoted Zerstorer to Lieutenant.

"I know you yourself are a Tuffle, but I don't care," said Zarbon putting some medals on Zerstorer's armor, "You don't ask questions. You follow orders. You never once asked to seek audience with Frieza. When he finally meets you, there's a chance he might respect you just a little."

"Thank you sir," responded Zerstorer standing erect, understanding that the best way to survive and gain prestige with Frieza was to continue to be quiet and follow orders. Simply, the Tuffle knew his service for the tyrant was a means to an end. Even if the end was simply living to see another day.

Zarbon prided as his cape now caught wind, "Men like you and I. We're a dying breed. We're patient and give respect without the expectation of it getting noticed or asking for appreciation. Simply, live by the sword, die by the sword."

"Meanwhile," Roman was narrating to Nion, "It took all but two years for the Tuffles to capitulate to the Saiyans, whose rule was more brutal than imagined. Within months, all male Tuffles were exterminated. In no way were Saiyans ready to be slaves again. Before the orders to kill Tuffle women and girls could be pushed forward, Saiyan and Tuffle miscegenation was already commonplace. King Vegeta's rule over the Saiyans was tenuous, organized government and leadership was not something that came natural to Saiyans. King Vegeta was wise, it was a better use of his time to keep his men happy and use his resources to unite the Saiyans behind a common culture. You know, creating the mythos including that of the so called Legendary Super Saiyan as well as the farcical legend that Planet Plant was originally inhabited by Saiyans, paving way for it to be rechristened Planet Vegeta. He also created the legend that the Vegeta bloodline was progenitor of the Saiyan race. The final myth to be adapted, was that the purer blood Saiyans were "high" class Saiyans and "low" level Saiyans had mutt bloodlines. Most of it not substantiated."

"The Legendary Super Saiyan, who's he?" Nion questioned, as this piqued his interest.

"Other than a myth? It was subject to change really. King Vegeta first implied the Legendary Super Saiyan was him, and revised history as singlehandedly defeating the Tuffles, something even Saiyans who were alive to witness the war believed. When it was clear that he was not even close to Lord Frieza's power or even his generals, suddenly this mythical figure got pushed further and further into the past to the point that no one bothered tracing the ancestry. The Legendary Super Saiyan was said to be so powerful that even his own power destroyed him. It was all rubbish; I learned that firsthand."

"How? I have to know." Nion responded, almost excited.

"Well, I haven't yet started fighting for Frieza. My brothers Nach, Bardock, and I still never left Planet Plant. Instead we had jobs as keepers at the work camps, where the surviving Tuffles were enslaved. As punishment for their treatment and enslavement of the Saiyans, all male Tuffles were executed, and those who fled elsewhere in the galaxy were extradited easily because King Vegeta and his Allies paid bounties for survivors. Female Tuffles on the other hand lived on, though death was the much easier option. The hazardous work thrust upon Saiyans was now thrust upon a very weak and short race. Over the years more and more Tuffles were dying from starvation and injuries. The only way to survive was convince a Saiyan into a tryst, and hope it flourished into a long term relationship."

"What was it like… Working in the camps, seeing the Tuffles die?" He stumbled a bit.

"Nach and Bardock were lucky and had work overseeing the deteriorating Tuffle laboratories. Even Saiyans did not conduct experimentation on Tuffles like they did on us, so I remember other Saiyans and I derisively calling it the "Science Fair." I worked in the electronics factories, where scouters and other equipment like you see here was constructed. The Planet Trade Organization, Frieza, was by far our biggest client. The construction of these units was a trade secret. There were survivors who remembered how these things were built. That alone barely kept them alive, and that's how I met Stuka. She was almost my height, but she was a ghastly figure. Her skin seemed grey, as she has not seen sunlight other than through a window for maybe five years now. She always had a hunch and looked unhealthily thin, she was less than a hundred pounds and was a little younger than I, still a teenager."

"There's a shortage of skilled workers to complete the task, master," Stuka monotonously pleaded to a Saiyan guard, "the rate of defective units is increasing to the point that the marked decline in quality is noticeable. My women are growing too weak to think, fear alone won't feed them."

Sergeant Karet, a typical tall and burley Saiyan with short black spikey hair, flung his palm at Stuka's face and slapped her, yelling, "You know that food is a waste on your kind. Think of what will happen to your lives if we do not ship two thousand scouters and twenty-five medical machines."

"Oh yes, our miserable lives," Stuka smiled brazenly, "most of us are more scared of living than dying man! You on the other hand, will be one of many held responsible when the Arcosians receive malfunctioning units. I'm sure you and your children will be quite safe after that mistake." Sergeant Karet held back tears, and simply laid another hard slap on Stuka's other cheek, "You have two choices: Figure out a way to feed us or allow me to train Saiyans to perform the task. We had Saiyans just like you working these factories for years."

"You fool! You know low-class Saiyans are incapable of complex thought! I would never have the capabilities to learn how to build these gadgets. We live to fight and conquer! Not to slave away in factories! King Vegeta would not lie to his own kin as he saved us from Tuffle criminals like you." Karet started to mindlessly admire King Vegeta, "The legendary Super Saiyan, who singlehandedly destroyed the Tuffle civilization."

"As your run of the mill young Saiyan adult, I arrived to my post late after a long night of partying and fighting my friends for girls." Roman reminisced, "I'm not going to give a political science lecture on how King Vegeta kept us distracted, but we fought each other to get stronger, and to procreate and pass on sons and daughters was a way of showing off our strength. Stable relationships and marriages rarely existed in Saiyan culture."

"Not all the cold water in the world is going to wake you up," Nach noted to his brother, who was helping him clean up before his shift, "You have to get a little stronger to get the girl next time. Saiyan girls like warriors who win—"

"If we were only high class Saiyans…" Roman was trying in vain to keep throwing water on his face, he knew his head was going to get a throbbing headache.

Bardock put his arm around his brother and offered words of encouragement, "That's why I always date the same girl! That way I never have to compete!"

Nach pushed Bardock out of the way, "That's crazy," he dismissed Bardock, "You have to get stronger and faster, because you'll never outsmart a high class Saiyan. Now make sure you drink plenty of tea, eat plenty of bananas, take extra vitamins—"

Roman sighed, "I don't think anything will work for the amount of times I got punched in the head."

"She was cute though!" Bardock laughed, "Sometimes if you're persistent enough in trying to get the girl, it'll work! That's what happened with Gine and myself."

"Brother…" Nach dismissed Bardock again, "To be a high class warrior, you have to act like a high class warrior. Never lower your standards, to get the girl of your dreams you have to fight and become stronger. And when you get her, then it is time to move on to the next one."

Roman flew to work, clocked in, and was given his unit assignment by his commanding officer Sergeant Karet, "Late to work again?" He laughed looking at the private, "One of these days you'll win a fight."

"Well, I'm always competing for girls out of my league, I don't settle often." Roman tried to explain to his sergeant.

"Don't listen to your stupid brothers. It's all the same, just get whatever you can get." Karet pointed out while Roman knew to stop paying attention, "That's what I do. One of those high class Saiyans can kill you. Let the likes of Colonel Choi get the youngest and prettiest, from what I know they can't give you the same fight as an experienced Saiyan warrior woman."

"I'll remember that…" Roman cringed, "I'll make sure to motivate the inmates to get the order for the scouters done."

"I felt like I lived in a world where no one understood me," Roman lamented to Nion who was listening attentively, "I found my attention shifting more and more to one of the Tuffle inmates, an emaciated girI named Stuka. I don't know if she manipulated me, but I didn't care. She seemed to be the only person in the world who understood me. I know my brothers Bardock and Nach meant well, they tried the best they could. The way Stuka taught me things intrigued and empowered me. Eventually, I watched her build so many scouters and construct so many medical machines. I started becoming interested in building these things myself. In secret of course."

"Who needs a soldering gun when you can use a finger?" Stuka laughed while using her finger as a laser.

Roman, who was concentrating really hard not to screw up putting the electronics and circuits together was almost done finishing a scouter, "Sometimes being told I'm too stupid to do these things makes me want to try and do them more, you know? Okay, I think it's done." He put on the scouter and powered it on, he immediately took Stuka's reading. "It says… 45. If there were twenty of you, you could fight a Saiyan on equal footing."

"I fight Saiyans on an equal footing everyday Roman." Stuka smiled.

"You can't do that, we're much stronger than you." Roman responded innocently.

"Well, you don't only fight someone with your fists. Surviving is a battle, it's one you fight with your mind." She looked back at Roman who had no clue about the concept. "You better get back going to your post, I don't want to get you scourged by the colonel."

Nion looked back at Roman and asked, "Who told the Saiyans they were so stupid? The Tuffles? I don't understand—"

"Well," Roman responded slightly defensively, "we didn't go to school. After the war ended King Vegeta created castes of low and high class Saiyans. So called low class Saiyans were happy with their station in life as long as they were told they the strongest warrior race in the universe, better than Tuffles and their clients. My commanding officers always told me how Tuffle women were master manipulators and spewed lies to control foolish Saiyan men and women, but the more months I spent with Stuka, I started realizing there was so much to life. It got to the point I wasn't seen by my friens or chasing girls anymore. I spent long nights in Stuka's solitary cell reading books. She would took about robots, computers, and genetics while I had more important things on my mind."

"…with synthetic DNA in the medical machine, Saiyan warriors will be able to heal at a substantially higher speed. This will enable already great warriors to accomplish more missions, more fights…" Stuka looked over at the Saiyan reading children's books, "Roman?"

"Hop, Pop, we like to hop, we like to hop, on top of Pop. Stop! You must not hop on pop.—" Roman droned.

"Roman, you look mesmerized. What's wrong?" She wondered.

"You won't understand," Roman remembered looking at words the first time they made sense to him, "I was told my entire life that we didn't know and couldn't learn how to read. This was something only high class Saiyans could figure out."

Stuka put her hand on Roman's back and looked in his eyes, "It doesn't matter whether you are a low or high class Saiyan, do not let someone's perception of you hold you back. You may not be meant to be as strong as Colonel Choi or King Vegeta, but that doesn't mean you cannot be smarter than them, or kinder than them. You don't know how much you are capable of, if you hold yourself back you will never know."

This was the exact opposite of what Roman was taught his entire life. He remembered when his father told him that someone as stupid and weak as him could only hope to die honorably in a battle somewhere. Roman always wanted much more in his life than that. He continued to spend days and nights helping increase production in the factory, usually through fear, but continued to read more and educate himself. Soon his maturation as a person was getting noticed by his Colonel, who noticed his private's fighting skills deteriorating, and seemed to be acting like a Tuffle rather than a Saiyan.

Colonel Choi had long straight black hair, large scars on his right cheek and his left arm that he received in the war, and wore white armor which contrasted with his rich olive complexion. "Battle power 800." He read on his scouter, "Roman, someone your age usually gets stronger, not weaker. And for some reason you don't seem to be minding it. It is your goal to act like a high class warrior, you may never be one, but it is your duty to try to attempt to accomplish that until your dying day. Think of your family's honor."

"I've learned to become stronger." Roman disagreed, "I am more patient. More learned, through leadership and intimidation we're meeting production goals. The quality of the units has increased. I think I have what it takes to be sergeant."

Choi laughed hysterically, almost maniacally, about such a notion, "A weakling like you? That's preposterous! I would have lost my mind the day that happens. The weak must die to make room for the strong, and it is the goal for the weak to become strong."

Roman looked angry, and challenged Colonel Choi, "What's the point of becoming stronger, if in no way, shape, or form I would ever have the chance to approach the power of a high class Saiyan warrior? "

Choi was enraged and was thinking of many ways to punish Roman, or maybe just fight him. Saiyans seemed to be simple that way, but Sergeant Karet contributed later when Choi approached him about the situation. Karet's advice was logical but simple-minded, "The kid's working too much. He needs a night with a girl, a pretty girl… That'll fix him. That'll fix anyone."

"That's his job not mine," Choi was bemused, "I have no idea what happened to his urge to procreate. It's all but disappeared."

"Well, you know I'm about quantity over quality, but the kid's been working so hard at being intelligent and helping production with the Kapo Stuka and the surviving Tuffles, he does not know how to relax anymore. He has to remember that he's Saiyan and not a worker bee!"

"I'll pull some strings for him Karet," Choi put his index finger on his chin, "I think you have the right idea."

That night, Bardock and Nach convinced Roman coincidentally to pick fights. Roman tacitly agreed because of his sense of duty to his brothers, but also due to his Saiyan nature. Bardock and Nach were happy to be having old times with their brother, and just like old times it did not take them long to be bloody and beaten after all three of them picked a fight unsuccessfully with a high class Saiyan.

"Latice, she's the most beautiful Saiyan I've ever seen." Nach drooled, "She got the perfect hourglass shape. I'll get beaten again for a shot with her."

"Another bites the dust," mumbled Roman, "The high class Saiyan gets the girl again!"

"Hey, if we won, it would have been between us, right?" Bardock was paranoid and asked his brothers, "You wouldn't have told Gine?"

"Bro," Nach reassured Bardock, "I always have your back."

After the brothers partied some more and started stumbling on their way home, Latice flew in front of them. Her long dark blue dyed hair hung all the way down her back and her bust noticeably pushed out her armor. The brothers almost lost their minds. "I like the fight you put up with Letis. But he's my brother, I want to find out for myself what kind of fight you three can put up."

The threesome was stunned until Bardock broke his silence, "Oh boy is this great!" They flew to their quarters which ranked of never being cleaned and was littered with old food containers, half empty jars of protein compound, and unlaundered jumpsuits and armor. Roman looked in Latice's eyes and was able to tell she was disgusted. But his brother's didn't care, they were about to have bragging rights with their friends for months.

Before Nach could bring up how what they thought was going to occur was _going_ to occur, Latice spoke up and looked at Roman, "The short one goes first."

Bardock spoke too quickly, "Me?"

"No no no," Latice disagreed, "the one with the spikey and messy hair."

The three of them looked around clueless until Bardock surmised his response, "… Me?"

"No, not you, you idiot!" Latice's face grown large and yelled with a strain mark on her temple.

"Oh, sorry." Bardock quietly apologized.

Nach slapped Roman on the back and smiled and gestured to Bardock to leave. After Roman's brothers left he spent time alone with Latice. It did not take long to do everything he imagined to do, however he kept thinking of the starving, and for now unattractive Stuka. But he was attracted to how Stuka made him feel. Latice was talking to Roman while they were alone, "You're going to get the bragging rights this time." She knew exactly how Saiyan men behaved, "You're cute."

While she said this Roman had an epiphany. He knew this was not what he wanted in his life. He wanted to be reading books with the Tuffle inmate, Stuka. Suddenly Roman emerged from the sheets and started getting dressed, to the disgust of Latice, and was frank with her, "Latice, this is not what I want in my life. There's so much more than this." He turned his back and could tell that Latice was shocked as she was covering herself with his bedsheet, "Go! Leave!"

Latice hurriedly got herself back together and left, she started communicating on her scouter. "Father!" She yelled as she was flying with a furiously flowing aura, "That's the very last time I do anything for you!" She then yelled to herself in disgust, "A low class saiyan!"

Colonel Choi angrily took his scouter and destroyed it, in rage he yelled and the ki emanating from his body created an aura that destroyed a large part of the factory. While he floated up to survey the damage he noticed Roman sneaking into the Tuffle living quarters without his armor on. "Drat, I'm going to have to fly closer because I do not have my scouter." He floated to the other side of the compound from a distance and heard the Tuffles panicking after the explosion. He squinted and used his ki, he was able to close up on Stuka's cell. She looked the least afraid after what just happened. He noticed Roman opening the door to her cell, it was hardly the first time a Saiyan opened the door to a Tuffle's cell when off duty, and saw him crying while Stuka hugged him. All Choi could do is laugh. "Very well then, I think I have figured out a way to make you act like a Saiyan again."

The weeks passed and Choi was acting almost too polite and cordial with Roman. At this point he was smart enough to know something was wrong. He explained to Stuka that their trysts have likely been discovered and may have become common knowledge among his subordinates. "We should break it off before they do something like kill you," Roman said with concern. "You've taught me a wealth of knowledge I will retain my entire life. I'll always remember you."

Stuka had no idea how a breakup went so she went with it. She knew of the possibility of both of them being in danger due to what they were doing. "I don't want to, but… I understand." She said with the hope of Roman coming back to her. "Saiyans and Tuffles are never meant to get along, but I'll remember you too."

"Why?" Roman said innocently.

"I was always able to sense that you had an innate humanity about you that other Saiyans don't have, or wish to ignore. I know you do what Saiyans do, it's what you were taught. But when I saw you, I knew you didn't want to be here whipping Tuffles. I'm honored to show you how to feel happy."

Roman smiled and left. He walked over to where he left his scouter and put it back on, he was smart enough to not have his conversations be picked up on. Work on completing scouters was delayed due to rebuilding the factory, something that made King Vegeta furious and certainly came down on Colonel Choi who lacked an explanation that the royalty would find valid. Roman approached Choi after reading a sign clearly posted while observing his Colonel keeping a clear distance, "The sign there warns all lifeforms to stay back, that the chemicals used in the construction may cause sterility."

Choi looked surprised, then lied, "Low class Saiyans can't read, you're an illiterate, you have no idea what the sign says. It has posted working hours and instructions."

"I don't think that Saiyans such as myself and officers like Karet who watch the inmates should risk sterility." Roman challenged, "If we don't follow safety procedures I'll bring this up to my men and the King will have your head."

Choi punched Roman in the stomach so hard he spit blood, but the colonel stopped there. He was perplexed by the fact that the low class Saiyan, a supposed illiterate, was able to read. Not only would the colonel get in trouble for risking fellow Saiyans' bloodlines, but this fact would challenge tenants of the Saiyan hierarchy; low class saiyans are too stupid to read, think, and too weak to ever get much stronger. Choi was mad, but then he remembered that he is a high class Saiyan. Unlike the low class slime still hunched over desperately getting his breath, he had a strategic mind. Choi decided to make this game high stakes, "Bring it up to the King. If you somehow survive making your way to him, he'll never believe you." Then he pointed, "Do you read that?"

"Keep out?" Roman could barely let out.

"Yes. Keep out, or you'll regret it." Choi laughed.

Roman looked at his fellow Saiyans and the Tuffles, knowing without proper safety procedures, they risked being unable to procreate. After Roman scratched his head even thinking about the fact he reasoned about safety procedures, he flew off to start warning fellow Saiyans, it was not much use.

"You're crazy, no way it says that." Said Cabbie, she was tall, strong, and not that pretty, "I've been trying to figure out forever what words say, but then I remember that I can't figure it out."

Sergeant Karet was not judgmental, but he offered a similar response, "Don't scare me like that. We can't read, we can ask the Colonel what it says."

Roman spent the following weeks being frustrated. Colonel Choi has been 100% right, he could not believe he was so brazen to think he could have brought this up to King Vegeta. He tried to vent to his brothers, sadly they were not much help.

"Read? We know how to eat! Not read!" Bardock laughed, "I once thought one of those signs said 'All You Can Eat,' until a high class Saiyan scolded me and said it read 'Stand In Line.' I owed a lot of money!"

Nach in some shape or form believed his brother, "I think that's great that you let one of those Tuffle insects teach you how to read. What good is it? We're not allowed to read. We can never hope to be as smart as a high class Saiyan anyway. Risk my neck to read? No way. Keep that garbage to yourself."

Roman played the part of an overly concerned whistle-blower, though his concern was very serious, "My fellow men will become sterilized if they continue to be exposed to the chemicals and not educated on safety procedures—"

"What's a safety procedure?" Bardock asked, having no idea what he meant.

Nach tried to sound more intelligent than he was, "I think it's that thing you put on when you meet girls on other planets."

After Roman had to hear about Nach's so called conquests and Bardock's five minute story of something he ate that tasted really good, he knew he had to see Stuka. She seemed to be the only being alive who understood him. He flew to the cells and greeted the keeper, who seemed to be slightly intimidated that Roman arrived. He shrugged it off and entered cell Ju-87-G. He saw Stuka, who looked sickly and frail as usual. But this time he sensed something was very wrong, he was not used to sensing something without his scouter on. Stuka crawled to the corner as if she was afraid of Roman, "You have to get away…" She muttered, was she not sleeping? Was she finally dying?

"No, no," Roman said desperately, "I have something on my mind but no one's listening to me—"

"It's best you go away, meet Saiyan girls," Stuka droned, "I think it's time for me to give up. I cannot continue to struggle and make these scouters. It's not my concern whether Lord Frieza gets them or not if I'm dead."

"No… please…" Roman started crying before he looked in her eyes and seen her hopelessness. Roman knew that she had no hope of ever escaping the camps, and years of starvation took their toll. "Why would a Tuffle go on without hope?" Roman thought. All he could do was wrap his arms around her and kiss her slowly, he had no idea what he was feeling, it was different than what he felt about his brothers, and certainly different than what he felt about his 'prizes.' Roman stopped his tears, he thought the least he can do was show Stuka how she changed him, and how now he can live the rest of his life with more knowledge and possibly happiness. Roman smiled to show Stuka that there was hope, in him at least. Stuka struggled to smile back, albeit genuinely. Roman felt walking out the door that this was possibly the last happy moment in Stuka's life. When he was exiting the camp and was about to exit the hallway, he heard laughter. He felt the cold shadow of Colonel Choi. "Choi!" Roman hissed.

"Killing you will be too easy," Choi challenged coolly, "I figured out a way I can beat you every day. And you'll have to live with the shame and dishonor of it."

"What do you mean? My pathetic low class Saiyan mind doesn't understand." Roman challenged facetiously.

"I learned about your rendezvous with the inmate Stuka, she's quite different from the others. Cheeky, abnormally tall for a Tuffle, I had no idea why you were so interested in her. She's starved half to death. But… That didn't matter."

"What didn't matter?" Roman clenched his fist and starting accessing his power.

"That didn't matter… Because that didn't stop me from going into her cell night… After night… After night… After night… Now I'm certain she'll finish the job herself. She was probably waiting to see your pathetic rear one more time. But until she does finish the job, she will see me again… And again… And again… And so on, until it's over and she passes into the next dimension. I actually don't want it to end so fast."

Roman started losing his grip on reality, he entered a situation he was helpless to resolve. But, he had to do something about it, but how? This was not a problem that could be solved with words. All he could do was grunt, "No… You…"

Choi laughed, "I enjoy the fact that every time it happens that she dies a little, you die a little—"

"You release her now, or else!" Roman was about to scream, his power was rising overwhelmingly. Now Choi was getting smart to it.

"1,500… 2,000… and rising?" He was reading his scouter, "Piece of junk. I must have got one of the defects. Be mad all you want, if you lay a finger on me I will kill her myself, after I break her spirits one more time—"

It was impossible for Roman to remember what happened next. Planet Vegeta heard the loudest scream they ever heard. Those with the courage to activate their scouter to find out what it was had their ears burned when their units exploded.

"My scouter malfunctioned my King," Zorn who was relatively tall and athletic said to King Vegeta, "It shortly had a reading over 20,000 not far from here and exploded—"

King Vegeta, who was paranoid of another Saiyan becoming stronger than him and coming for his throne, immediately responded, "Find all the Saiyans in the vicinity, and bring them to me directly." Zorn thought his King lost his marbles, but he knew better. Anything other than treating King Vegeta with respect could be a cause for execution. Zorn marshalled some men and started off to the area where the reading occurred.

The next thing Roman remembered was standing there next to Choi's dead body, laying on the ground with a hole where his heart was. Roman was now dripping with sweat, and trembling. The seconds in his life were now numbered he thought. He did not remember a single moment of what happened, but he knew despite their disparity in power he killed Choi. With a violently flashing blue aura, he flew back to his brothers. Which could be unwise because they could now be executed too, but he was not thinking too clearly. When he arrived at their living quarters, Nach and Bardock knew something terrible has happened. They did not master their ki sense but they were not inept.

Bardock, who was still wearing his scouter, tried to lighten up the situation, "Looks like you saw a ghost bro!" Nach, who had a singed ear where his scouter should be, looked on to listen to Roman's response.

Trembling and mumbling, Roman was not able to make out words. After Nach yelled at him to speak clearly, Roman was able to collect himself relatively simply, "I… I killed Choi. I don't know how I did it. He was hurting Stuka, so I got angry."

Nach, who was now imagining his now imminent execution roared, "He was hurting a TUFFLE?"

"Yes, the Tuffle. I'm sorry guys, but… I love her. She's the most decent person on this planet."

After Nach rolled his eyes, he chided, "So you were goofing around with a Tuffle, that's why you weren't hanging out with us?"

Without trembling, Roman responded, "She was innocent." Then looked back onto his accusatory brother.

Bardock, who tended to not act like a Saiyan sometimes, finally spoke up to a disgusted Nach, "I believe you Rome. You couldn't stand there and take it when someone you loved got hurt. But we have minutes to get you out of here."

"Get out of here," Roman wasn't thinking, "But how?"

Nach who get the sense of Bardock's idea, violently yanked out Roman's tail. It was by far the most painful feeling Roman experienced in his entire life. "We may all end up dead from King Vegeta, but it doesn't mean you have to." Bardock smiled as his brother Nach was now on the same page. "Quickly, they have an extra ship at the science lab. Take it and disappear somewhere far away from here."

"Okay," Roman responded confidently, then continued predictably to Nach's disdain, "But I have to get Stuka first."

Before Nach could yell and argue Bardock but in, "Sure. We'll help, we don't have the time to argue. Nach, get the ship ready and I'll help you get the girl. Let's go."

Roman and Bardock reached the outside wall of the cell first, and destroyed the wall telekinetically. Without any explanation, Roman grabbed Stuka, and flew away with her. They entered through a part of the ceiling that Nach destroyed in the science lab.

The ship, a Saiyan pod, was designed for one, but it would have to do. Roman and Stuka rushed inside and closed the door. Bardock smiled as Stuka said thank you to the Saiyans. The ship took off, and Nach spoke up again, "If they survive the anti-aircraft fire, a large scary universe awaits them."

Bardock looked over at his brother and smiled, "At least we did something good with the last moments of our lives."

Nach could not bear the thought of Bardock dying, "Last moment of my life, but not yours. Go back to the quarters, I'll take the fall for this alone."

"They won't believe you." Bardock was stunned.

"I don't care, I'll say what it takes for you to live. Remember you were at the quarters sleeping the entire time."

Bardock nodded and took off, Nach floated into the sky and started laughing, to await his arrest. It did not take long for Zorn to find him, "Do you know what happened to that ship?"

Nach smiled and started laughing, "I launched that witch Stuka straight to Frieza and I killed that scum Choi!"

Zorn knew he was lying, "A low class dog like you? You couldn't kill Choi in your wildest dreams."

"So what?" Nach challenged, "I don't care if you believe me. That Tuffle was one of my many conquests and Choi got in my way. Don't waste your time with Bardock or Roman, because I'm the man you're looking for. I'm the only one with Stuka's coordinates."

In the present, Nion was surpised, "So, that's how you achieved the transformation Colonel. You didn't have the power, but you had no choice but to win. There was a need, a need that can only be accomplished with a pure heart and pure Saiyan nature."

Roman was happy Nion caught on to his story, "Exactly, every time a Saiyan reaches his barrier, and is approached with the utter demands for more power, he has the ability to tap into his deep well and bring it out." Nion smiled, "Think of what will happen to the Wirstians when a power of Vegeta's or Frieza's level finally reaches them. Who will protect them? What will you do against a power fifty times stronger than you?" Roman's volume was now increasing and growing angrier, "How did you feel that you had no power to elude capture from us. What if surrender was not an option and you had to fight to the death, will it matter what happens to you? Will you let it go? Let it go!"

Nion, out of pure desperation of his weakness, finally lost control of himself and felt a power he could not imagine surge through him as his golden aura flashed. Now he knew the thrill everyone was talking about, but he was not satisfied. "Now I'm strong enough to be cannon fodder. I desire to be a high class warrior, a true contributor to the operation."

"You already are a true contributor to the operation!" Roman said to calm him down.

"No, I desire to get more powerful. I will ascend to the next level." He continued angrily.

"Perfect. You are ready for Super Saiyan 2." Before Nion could catch his breath Roman commenced a furious assault to continue their training.

General Cori was looking at the surveillance monitors to oversee the progress of the training, she put her hand on a disinterested Zerstorer, "It looks like all the recruits are prepared for their starting positions Field Marshal. You can let the Protection Squadron launch to Frieza Planet 150."

Zerstorer smiled, oblivious to Cori's advance, "Perfect, prepare the recruits for their assignment and inform the Neo-Saiyan army of their jumping-off positions near the lookout."

General Cori went closer to the Tuffle and put one hand on his arm and another on his shoulder, "The wind currents situated at the lookout will have the Earth's population changed into Tuffles within the hour. Now, the recruits can act as a sufficient diversion from Earth's special forces, these Z Fighters. There is no way the Army Group A can fail their assignment."

Zerstorer turned around and shown the Saiyan his back, "The Earthlings won't know what him them, it will be by far their most embarrassing defeat."


	6. Chapter VI: Jumping Off Positions

Chapter VI: Jumping Off Positions

Fridge was embarrassed by Majuub's presence on his world. It did not take long for rumors of Majuub's miracles to spread across the planet. His ability to turn anything into food and water made him a hit among the population. Fridge was starting to get paranoid that this magical being was going to take his empire away from him with gifts.

"You cannot just turn garbage into food!" Fridge said dripping with sweat, worried beyond his imagination, "Think of the cult of personality you are creating! What will happen when Vegeta finally meets the Saiyan and you leave the planet?"

Majuub, who like his mentor forgone a formal education in order to concentrate on his abilities, looked puzzled as he was using his finger to turn rocks into food from the top of Fridge's balcony, much to the population's delight. "Cult of what? What's that?"

Fridge still could not understand this magical being, "Well, uh, you see that each planet has a delicate economic system, an invisible hand if you will. Anything that throws this delicate and precious system off balance can cause everyone to be unable to provide for themselves."

Majuub looked like he finally got it, "Oh, an 'economy,' you mean the hover cars that take less fuel!"

Fridge's face turned blue in frustration, and he approached Majuub threateningly with sweat trying to get the concept through his head, "Do you see… Sir! If everyone has everything they want, they do not need me anymore!"

Uub closed his eyes and smiled, "Oh, why didn't you say so! It's the same way on Earth!" After Fridge's jaw dropped he fell over with his feet in the air.

"Trunks!" Goten said impressed while on the lookout, "your gains are amazing! Whatever is waiting for us out there you'll be prepared!"

Trunks looked back at Goten unimpressed, as both of them were integral to fusion, and as always the fusion being only as good as the weaker half. "You're inability to ascend to the next level could cost us the fight, if we're having one. Despite the fact that everyone here, even Roshi has doubled their power, the brunt of the weight is going to fall on us, and Gohan."

"Yeah, who knows what Vegeta is doing." Goten said with distrust.

"You shouldn't judge too quickly," Dende quipped walking over to them, "Vegeta and the Arcosian are back at the Capsule Corporation headquarters. I was able to sense Vegeta's progress at the south pole, his power is unequaled on this planet."

"Really?" Trunks glowed being happy about his father's progress, yet frustrated with Gotenks' potential limitations.

"Yes, it won't take that long for you to go see him." Dende suggested, gripping on his cane loosely. "Until Gohan feels finished with his training, you two are our strongest cards."

Goten was concerned about the obvious. "When will Gohan be done?"

Mr. Popo seemed to appear out of thin air, catching the three by surprise, "Only Gohan will know when he is ready to come out, that's if he is still alive. Unlike the older Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gohan will not age despite the fact he feels like he is spending years there honing his skills."

"Why did Gohan have to be so selfish!" Trunks punched the ground, "We all could have had our chances training there."

"I only let Gohan enter the chamber because he has the possibility of surviving," Mr. Popo said while being his usual calm self, "unlike yourself."

Trunks' face turned blue, "What, you mean even after all of my training and gains?"

"You're not strong enough," Mr. Popo smiled.

Suddenly a violent blue aura surrounded Trunks, "That's not true! When this Saiyan doesn't come and Gohan finally decides to come out, I'll prove I'm even stronger than he is!" Trunks took off, presumably towards capsule corp. Goten laughed nervously while Dende started to count the Z Fighters.

"With Master Roshi, Chatzou, Yamcha, 18, Krillin, Tien, and you Goten, we are not forgetting one warrior, not one at all…" Suddenly a huge Saiyan power level was sensed. The terror they all felt was undeniable.

"The power!" Krillin trembled to a power he did not feel in such a long time, "It's so evil, it's so terrible! It's so—"

"What are all of you doing here without me!" Pan yelled with bio-electricty and yellow hair, one of the bolts hit the lookout near Krilllin and blew up a part of the floor causing the humans to scatter. "Everyone is training for an incoming threat and no one tells me about it? I had to find out through Bulla that Majuub went off to some rock somewhere?"

18, whose appearance did not age close to that of Krillin backed up her husband, though fearfully, "Well, uh, all of us it thought it would be best if you weren't brought into the middle of this so—"

"SO WHAT!" Pan yelled as her golden Super Saiyan 2 aura rushed through her, "I'm stronger than all of you idiots put together, if someone was needed to defend the planet that person would be me! Senzu beans are a waste on the bald one!"

Tien, Chatzou, and Krillin all felt insulted at the same time. All three of them lunged at Pan, each getting dispatched by a hit a piece. Yamcha and 18 then both fired ki blasts at the same time at Pan, only causing an explosion and smoke. Pan punched 18 in the stomach, then elbowed her down forcefully as her body crashed from the air into the ground of the look out. One glare at Yamcha caused him to faint. Dende and Mr. Popo were smiling at this training opportunity, Goten got angry, "That's enough, let's see if you can handle Super Saiyan 3!"

Goten's hair grew down to his back and his eye brows disappeared, he screamed angrily powering up. Pan took the opportunity to power up too, just before both of them started fight furiously with golden auras around them. From the view of space, it looked like there were massive thunderstorms appearing seconds apart all over the world as the two warriors clashed, causing disturbances in the sky.

Now, both of them were almost in space, somewhere safe for them to show the limits of their destructive power, Goten yelled, "Ka-me-ha-me-ha!"

Pan returned the exchange, "Masenko-ho!" The beam struggle was furious, and Goten started dripping with sweat.

"What in the world is that?" Freon said surprised while Vegeta and Bulla were sitting calmly outside in a garden drinking tea. "I didn't know there were more Saiyans with that type of power on this planet!"

"Oh, that's just Pan, Gohan's daughter." Bulla turned away from tablet's keyboard to inform him. "For some reason the guys don't ever want us to get involved. She always takes it this hard."

"None of those jokers matter anyway," Vegeta dismissed to Freon, "Only Gohan and I will have an impact on the battle if the Saiyan does decide to come here."

Before Goten was about to lose his equal footing to Pan, both of them stopped. Pan clearly won, much to Goten's disgust. Both of them descended back to the lookout with all of the Z Fighters amazed. "How?" Goten asked in disgust of himself, "How do you get so powerful without even training?"

"I train when I have time to spare." Pan informed Goten as if this was an obvious fact.

"If you don't mind me asking," Krillin responded, "But with who?"

"Giru! Giru! Giru! Giru!" Giru floated suddenly out from behind Pan.

"The tiny robot?" Goten said incredulously.

"Observe." Pan said, then looked over to Giru lovingly, "Giru, you know, you're the best friend I've ever had. You were there for me during my first heart break and when I graduated from school. You are the one who gave me the encouragement I needed before I aced my first job interview."

Giru looked back like a soulless robot, "…Giru"

"You kept all of my secrets from my bachelorette party and you help me get information from my competitors' accounts," Giru now started to sweat, somehow, slowly creeping away, "we've done everything together, everything. There's no one in the world I love more than you!" Before Giru could take off Pan slapped the robot furiously with her right hand. Krillin had to duck to prevent Giru from colliding with him, before Pan caught Giru, who came all the way around the planet in seconds with her other hand. Everyone fell down, in a combination of fear and disgust.

Tien, still sweating, brought up a more realistic reason why Pan became so strong to the group, "Guys, you're all forgetting that she married Majuub, who may very well be the world's strongest."

"Yeah, Majuub gets all of his power defending himself when Pan chastises him!" Roshi blurted out red faced while covering his mouth.

"How did you know?" Pan responded seriously as everyone fell over.

The Saiyan recruits in the Tuffle lair were now being equipped as now the battle was to begin in a day. Roman was commanding the division of recruits, and was informing them of their mission. Using holographic projectors, the Saiyans got to see maps of their expected advances throughout the universe. "The general plan of attack for Citadel was developed by Field Marshal Zerstorer and General Cori. They have decided on a three prong attack. The Protection Squadron will secure Frieza Planet 150 to destabilize the Planet Trade Organization while Army Group A will secure what we know as 'The Lookout,' where Earth's wind currents originate in order to spread the Fruitgas that will start the genetic alterations of the Earthlings. However, it's you lowly recruits that have maybe the most integral task in my opinion. It is up to us to get Earth's Special Forces, the Z Fighters far away from the lookout and create the diversion. It will be you recruits who will be involved with the heaviest combat. Our ability to distract them long enough or maybe defeat them will be where Citadel's success is hinged upon."

"Yes, Colonel!" All the Saiyans responded in unison.

After the subsequent phases of the operation were reviewed, the soldiers returned to their barracks. Nion, now in full combat armor and jumpsuit, tracked down Roman. "Are you busy Colonel?"

Roman turned his back and responded, "It's normal to feel nervous before battle, especially on the front lines."

"No, not that. I was wondering something. Now that I've achieved the ascended level of power, I was wondering how the Tuffles made it here, to Earth. How come our Masters didn't stay on Planet Frieza?"

Roman turned all the way around, and looked down the hallways where Nion was standing, "That's a good question. The Tuffle experiments could never be brought to their fruition on Planet Frieza, it took look enough to gain the prestige for Stuka to get Frieza' permission to create an outpost here on Earth. However, where we left off, Stuka and myself unbeknownst to us, were on our way to Frieza and Nach was busy trying to convince King Vegeta's men that everything that just happened was his doing, alone."

Zorn now knew he was in a situation that he could not just kill Nach. Knowing the whereabouts of the girl who knew most effectively how to engineer the machines that propped up Planet Vegeta's export economy made Nach more valuable alive than dead. "Come with me you low class dog, and plead your case to King Vegeta." It did not take long for King Vegeta to ignore the circumstantial evidence involved with the breakout and simply imprison Nach. He had to juggle the fact that there was a power at the level of the so called Super Saiyan he created somewhere on his planet with the fact that the only person who had the ability to instruct his slaves to make the Saiyans' most profitable technologies was on her way to Frieza. King Vegeta was prepared to make Lord Frieza a generous offer to get her back in chains, or risk complete Saiyan subjugation to the tyrant.

Roman and Stuka landed on Planet Frieza. Zerstorer was dispatched to see what the unauthorized landing was, he opened the pod and saw his sister in the arms of a Saiyan. He did not care about seeing her in the Saiyan's arms, he simply started crying as he put his arms around his emaciated sister. Roman was kind of surprised to see a male surviving Tuffle, and at how strong he was. Roman looked at Zerstorer and his black armor, purple jumpsuit, and scouter, and asked, "Sir, where are we?"

Zerstorer responded, "We are on Planet Frieza, Saiyan."

Stuka was surprised, her eyes watered as she looked up at her brother. She was still wearing her tatters from the prison camp, "You work for Frieza?"

"Yes, but not for much longer," Zerstorer turned his back, "I'll confess about allowing both of you in restricted airspace. Both of you will defect to Frieza, and I will take my execution honorably."

"No," Stuka responded defiantly, "Take me to Frieza! My knowledge of engineering the scouters, medical machines, and other equipment his empire uses is invaluable. If Roman and I die, so what? We were going to die anyway."

"No!" Zerstorer pleaded while holding back tears, "I can't bear the thought of you dying again! Let me do something right for once in my life after what I did to mommy—"

"I was dead until minutes ago," Stuka let out a rare smile from her bony face, "trust me Zero."

Against his better judgment, Zerstorer took the three of them to Zarbon, who was appalled to see Zerstorer with another Tuffle and a soldier from a mystery race, "Lieutenant Zerstorer, I hope you have an explanation."

"My sister, Stuka, seeks an audience with Lord Frieza," he said while bowing, Stuka continued to stand defiantly while Roman was simply too inept to bow, "She's the last remaining Tuffle capable of engineering scouter and medical machine production, she has chosen to defect to the Planet Trade Organization, and wants to speak to Frieza personally. Off the record General, I know this will result in my death, I understand that."

Zarbon, who was now not upset at the fact the Zerstorer knew what he was in for, nodded, and took the threesome in to see Frieza. Frieza sat in his hoverchair and glowered angrily while Dodoria was chuckling because Zarbon losing face was the only way for him to look good to Frieza. Frieza spoke in a gentle and non-assuming tone, the exact opposite of the way he behaved, something anyone who met him sensed immediately, "Greetings. I've heard many positive things about you Lieutenant Zerstorer. You have participated in the conquests of millions of now-subjects, and helped destroy many worlds for me without ever asking a question I was told. Well done, but why are you seeking my audience now with these… drifters."

Zerstorer bowed, "Lord Frieza. The woman you see is my sister, we both grew up on Planet Vegeta together. She was imprisoned and worked in the electronics factory. She is the only one on the planet capable of engineering scouters, medical machines, and many other things we import from Planet Vegeta that the empire depends on."

Lord Frieza looked angry, Dodoria took a shot, "I know that's impossible, because King Vegeta has told our ambassadors himself that these are Saiyan-made technologies. We kill the girl and we will still get a steady trickle of equipment."

"That's not true," Stuka spoke out fearlessly against Dodoria, "Myself and the remnants of my race work in the camps. No Saiyans are any longer capable of constructing scouters ever since the Tuffles lost the war. I am the only living Tuffle capable of teaching people how to construct these things to any acceptable degree. Once I die, all the knowledge of engineering these machines will go with me." Dodoria smirked, while Frieza appeared to become even more angry, "Wait and see. Give it six months, the amount of units you receive will decline heavily. Most orders you receive will be reverse-engineered poorly."

"Very well then," Frieza said in a harsh tone then smiled, "We will give it six months. If the Saiyans prove to hold up their end of the bargain, and they will, well, you know what will happen." Stuka smiled definatly back at Frieza while Zertstorer just look shocked at the whole situation. Somehow, a weakling like his sister was able to stand up to Frieza and Dodoria, and more unexpectedly, he was still alive. In the meantime, Roman was drafted into the ranks of the Planet Trade Organization, becoming one of many of Frieza's Saiyan killers. Stuka nursed herself back to health living in Zerstorer's dormitory. Without the fear of continuing clandestine research like she did on Planet Vegeta, she commenced her genetic research unimpeded on Planet Frieza.

Back in the present, Roman was finishing his story to Nion, "It did not take long for Saiyan ambassadors to start acting desperately and for defective units to flow to the Planet Trade Organization. It did not take even six months before Frieza sent an army to conquer Planet Vegeta for good. The Saiyans lost their autonomy, with King Vegeta only remaining as a puppet for Frieza to keep the Saiyans under control. Most Saiyan men and women, even those who were not tasked with fighting such as my brothers, scientists Nach and Bardock, were drafted into the ranks of Frieza's army. Hey, it was a job we fiercely enjoyed. We were meant to fight, but it was not a relationship meant to last. The Saiyan family structure, already unstable from a lack of long term relationships, eroded further as thousands of infants, like you, were sent off to space to die and conquer worlds for Frieza. Most of them died. By the time whispers of a Saiyan insurgence popped up, Frieza killed virtually the entire known Saiyan race in one simple attack. Unbelievable as it may be, he was simply that powerful."

"Whatever happened to the Tuffles and Frieza?" Nion questioned, "How _did_ Master Zerstorer and Stuka make their way to Earth?"

"Well, Stuka was always good for a ruse in the pinch. Frieza's decision to eliminate the Saiyan race was almost common knowledge from everyone who was not a Saiyan, since my documents were forged, like Zerstorer's, my true race was unknown and I was probably the first Saiyan to learn of our fate."

Roman was serving food in the cafeteria to many of Frieza's men. Of course, high ranking officers had much better provisions than the grunts. As one of Frieza's generals came by, Roman made sure to have the trays of the fine cuisine ready. Kui came over, speaking with his usual vitriol. "I can't wait to see the look on those monkeys' faces when Frieza decides to end the Saiyan problem once and for all," he hissed, "I just hope he allows my army and I to do the job ourselves. I don't know why those weaklings' heads got so big…" Roman stood there stunned while Kui did not not understand the delay, "Don't just stand there, give me more pizza pockets!"

"Well, yes, yes sir general." Roman stumbled, serving Kui more food he just baked fresh. He looked at most of the men in the mess hall seeing them laugh, even though he knew and participated in the atrocities of the Saiyan race, a part of him felt terrible. There were few left that Roman felt comfortable in confiding in, one obvious person was his wife Stuka. When she gained her health, and around sixty pounds, she grew much less meek than she was on Planet Vegeta. Roman figured this was the way she always was intrinsically, he would frequently compare the dying and gentle Tuffle he knew in the camps versus the beautiful and confident Tuffle she was now. Since she elevated herself to a position with a modicum of power, she did not care whose toes she stepped on as long it was not that of Frieza or a high-ranking officer. Roman went to tell Stuka later that evening of what he found out, hoping for sympathy. He did not get much of that, in fact to his surprise she already knew.

"The Saiyan race has outlived their use to Lord Frieza," she boasted to an angry Roman, "How many more planets can Frieza actually conquer? Unless he implements better systems to administer his empire, his conquests will cost more than what the conquered lands provide."

Roman cared little for the political, economic, and bureaucratic aspects of running an empire, "My people are going to die Kiki," he was almost screaming, "there are plenty of good Saiyans out there. You know that yourself. We didn't become mass murderers until we were forced to take orders from Frieza. Even your brother has to kill his tens of thousands simply to follow orders. We don't deserve the same fate as the Tuffles, you know that."

Stuka smiled coldly, looking unconcerned, "I have been planning for this day to come for a long time," she responded to a galvanized Roman, "but there's a clear difference between the Saiyans and the Tuffles. There are thousands of Saiyan youths scattered across the universe on assignment. The Saiyan race will hardly become extinct. Finding them will be relatively easy. However, I've figured out a way to revive the Tuffle race. The Saiyans and Tuffles will have a second chance to learn how to live in peace."

"Wait, what!?" His jaw dropped, "That's crazy."

"Listen to me," she started to explain, "King Vegeta is the problem with the Saiyan race. He's the one who caused the Saiyans to share the same fate as the Tuffles, culminating with their enslavement from Lord Frieza. He continues to send Saiyan men, women, and children to their deaths just so he can keep his life and his throne, if he cared for anyone else's life but his own he wouldn't have got everyone in this perdicament."

Roman knew King Vegeta was a problem, but the Tuffles were hardly angels themselves. "The Tuffle King was a monster," he screamed, "You know that first hand."

"Exactly. The wicked Tuffles have been long exterminated, by Saiyans of course. Now Frieza will be exterminating the last of the wicked Saiyans. If it were up to me, I wouldn't do it, but we don't have the power to stop Frieza, not close to it, not yet."

"Not yet? What are you getting at?" Roman questioned.

"My prestige with the Planet Trade has grown exponentially faster than that of my brother. The technologies and genetic enhancements I have developed for the empire have become its lifeblood. So, in return, Frieza has given me approval to set up a colony on a backwater planet for further genetic experiments. A dream of mine of course."

"The dream to recreate the Tuffle race I assume," Roman deduced.

"We're setting up a satellite on this so called Earth, this is where we'll live undetected to their population. Their race, so called humans, are the tabula rasa."

"What in the world is that?"

"A blank slate, a perfect experimental group most conducive to be the progenitors of the new Tuffle race. Their genetics can be modified easily if my hypotheses are correct. Once I master modifying human DNA to be that of a Tuffle, I can work on applying the principles to the rest of the specices in the universe."

Roman raised his eyebrow, something like this sounded awfully wicked, "What about the Saiyans, where do we come in?"

"There are thousands of perfectly good Saiyans out there."

"The babies are brainwashed from the space pods and their programming; all they know is how to kill." Roman pointed out.

"Nothing simple psychology can't solve," Stuka said confidently, "You see, the Tuffles and the Saiyans will have a second chance in living in unity. Through the mastery of genetics, we'll become stronger than Frieza in maybe forty years."

"Well, if you're able to find a way for my brothers and I to survive," Roman still said incredulously, "I don't care if we're over there making sundaes."

Zerstorer walked into the dormitory looking stronger than ever. Roman was in disbelief. Zerstorer boasted, "Kiki, turn on your scouter."

Stuka quickly detected her brother's power level, "7,500."

"7,500?" Roman then ran his scouter and his jaw dropped, "No way! No amount of fighting can make you that powerful!"

"Roman, clandestine research on genetic enhancement has already begun. My brother and I of course are the first subjects. You can see for yourself the potential of this technology. Think about how powerful you can become, we will rule the universe… Peacefully. Frieza has permitted both of us to establish our outpost. All you have to do is become a fugitive, it wouldn't be the first time."

Roman, still confused, tried to justify the situation to himself pragmatically, "I know whatever the Tuffles have hatched up is wrong, but how could I turn my back on Stuka, when she is offering me a chance to save my brothers? We can't stop Frieza now, not yet."

Roman figured his wife was the lesser of the two evils compared to the merciless murderer Frieza. As a result, he told Bardock and Nach about his plan. He tried to convince them to become fugitives with him and go to Earth. Over the years of fighting for Frieza, they no longer took an interest in science but became ruthless killers. Despite being intelligent enough to develop the powerball with Tuffle captives back on Planet Vegeta, Bardock grew angry and belligerent. Killing maybe over 100,000 people and frequently losing his senses as an Oozaru affected his mind, changing how he thought and felt. He no longer found humor in things and he lost his playful nature almost completely. Nach, always a typical ruthless and pragmatic Saiyan simply found a new master to serve, without being bored to death in the laboratories he had relative operational freedom under Frieza's command, albeit with Saiyan officers. He enjoyed fighting a lot more than watching Tuffles trying to teach him cybernetics while keeping it a secret that way he would not stick out to the high class Saiyans. Bardock, at this point characteristically, lost his cool, and yelled, "You're insane Roman. Don't let the small head tell the big head what to do. You let your Tuffle boo brainwash you. We carry virtually all the weight for Lord Frieza, King Vegeta has ensured the Saiyan race as indispensable!"

Nach laughed, "I'm glad to see that Stuka's still getting down with her mad science experiments! No one will ever become as powerful as Frieza, other than maybe King Vegeta who may be the legendary Super Saiyan."

Roman, was angred at being disbelieved by his brainwashed brothers, "If you have sny sense left in you, come with me if you want to live!" he yelled before taking off. It did not take long for Bardock to put the pieces together and find out that Roman was right. However, he asked Nach first to help him against Frieza. Instead of taking up the cause, Nach used this opportunity to squirm his way back to Roman. "So you've come back, do you believe me now?" Roman crossed his arms.

"Whether I believe you or not," Nach hissed, "I've connected the dots. Planet Vegeta has struck its eleventh hour. I'll go with you, just to keep an eye on those Tuffles." The explanation was good enough for Roman, who with Zerstorer and Stuka, left for Earth minutes before Planet Vegeta's destruction by Frieza, who stunned his allies and his own men by taking upon the entire task himself without exerting effort. Proving himself to be many times more powerful than previously believed.

When the foursome made their way to Earth, Nach did not understand why Zerstorer did not simply conquer that rock. Surveying the Earth from space, the computer made all the significant power readings on the planet. Nach could not believe how weak they were, "Zerstorer," Nach still spoke to him as a relative equal, "The weaklings on this planet are less than a tenth as strong as I. Why don't we simply conquer it, rather than float here in space?"

"I somewhat agree with you," Zerstorer smiled, "but letting the Earthlings remain as a control group is more valuable than simply taking over that arid rock. If they even became fractionally more powerful than they currently are, it still wouldn't take long to gain control over the planet since they're so weak."

Stuka had a more intelligent opinion, "There's little reason to take control of the Earth only to sell it back to Frieza or make it a client state. I'd rather not bring attention to what we're doing here."

"I remember having a spiritual connection to the Earth," Roman reminisced in the present day, "It didn't take long to determine there was a Saiyan already there, my nephew Kakarot. Since he was so weak, he was easy to keep a secret from the Tuffles. This didn't last forever, as by the time he defeated Prince Vegeta, he was far stronger than all of us. It was not like we took power readings of the planet daily; it happened so fast. After that happened, we stepped up the mission to find more Saiyans. Seeing that if a Saiyan like Kakarot had that much more battle potential than expected, there was no reason why we couldn't raise an army of thousands of warriors like him. Seeing Kakarot casually become ten times more powerful than I or Nach overnight was the impetus in expanding the Neo-Saiyan Army from a Protection Squadron to a full-fledged offensive force."

"What will happen to the universe, after Citadel's objectives are met?" Nion wondered aloud, "I know Planet Nion will be safe, but how do we ensure peace with billions of different cultures?"

"After each planet has their DNA altered, the desire to seek knowledge and to love peace becomes an inherent characteristic. We know that ourselves that much of our Saiyan urges are now controlled. Each planet in the universe will have a large tank of Fruitgas deployed in the upper atmosphere where the wind currents originate. All lifeforms over ground will breath in the gas, changing their genetic code. Now all new cells created by high level organisms, like humans or even Arcosians for example, will be Tuffle-modified. The Tuffle race will be reborn, resulting in many diverse yet common Tuffle cultures. The universe will no longer result to violence to settle disputes, because we'll be one nation of Tuffles. Both of us are going to be a huge part of that."

Inside the room of spirit and time, Gohan was inside a giant nightmare, consistently fighting avatars of his inner demons. Gohan grew very thin, and pale, but somehow substantially increased his strength out of sheer will and anger at not reaching his potential. He was agonizing with himself while fighting an avatar of Beerus, "With Goku and Vegeta dead, there's no way for you to save the planet from destruction! Watch as all of your friends die before you! You're no Super Saiyan God! You have no capability of obtaining that power!"

Despite the fact that Gohan exceeded Beerus' power long ago, in the world of a nightmare logic goes by the wayside and fear takes over. While Gohan was in the false world, if he would be defeated he would die. Gohan remembered almost dying against an avatar of Majin Buu, only surviving when he dreamed up an avatar of the Supreme Kai to heal him and bring him back to battle. Sadly, an avatar of Cell caught wind to Gohan's strategy, killing the Supreme Kai he dreamed of. Gohan was not able to completely heal from his wounds at this point. He was purely surviving on willpower.

Gohan sensed that the God of Destruction Beerus had an edge over his newly discovered Super Saiyan 5 form. Due to the massive drain of energy and inability to regenerate his strength, Gohan abandoned Super Saiyan 5 in favor of attempting to draw a majority of that power out of the existing Super Saiyan 2 form he mastered. He was fighting as a Super Saiyan 2 against Beerus, and even though he may get close to Beerus power by using his trump card, he may only have it for around ten seconds. Ten seconds seems to take an eternity in a fight at this point, but his body was so weak and wounded he could simply die even if he managed to win.

Despite the disadvantage in power, Gohan continued to hang in there with Beerus. When Beerus was able to land blows on Gohan, he inflicted more damage than Gohan was able to reciprocate. Gohan thought to himself that his best chance was to somehow get Beerus' energy level to the point of parity, then finish him off with the Kamehameha. "If you're so much powerful than me, how come you can't hit me with one of your attacks?" Gohan challenged while creating a large amount of distance between himself and the god of destruction.

"I could hit you with my attacks in my sleep!" Beerus responded confidently, he started to shoot thousands of ki-blasts from his index fingers, causing great destruction to the Earth.

Gohan knew the planet would be in trouble if he did not take to the sky. "Even these insignificant attacks can destroy the planet," Gohan thought, "without Beerus scaling back his attacks' destructive power, I need to have Beerus waste his strength by launching his attacks into space." Gohan used a weak Masenko to launch himself into the air, the smoke was able to only blind Beerus shortly. Beerus continued his assault into the sky, while Gohan used Afterimage to evade it. Gohan spoke up to Beerus who was growing more frustrated, "I can do this all day Beerus!" He bluffed. Dodging attacks at this speed were getting Gohan tired in a hurry. Beerus stepped up his attack, launching ki-blasts now from his hands instead. Gohan's exhaustion was kicking in, he could not keep this up for long, but his plan was working. "You can't even hit a mere Super Saiyan 2, never mind a Super Saiyan God! You're truly pathetic to think you could hang in there with my father if he achieved the legendary Super Saiyan God form!"

Beerus stepped up his assault further and yelled, "You fool! I can destroy your planet and kill you right now!"

"Go ahead, and live the rest of your millions of years being unable to defeat a mere Super Saiyan 2!" Gohan continued to play into Beerus' pride.

"I'll kill you, then with a blink of an eye destroy this whole solar system!" Beerus yelled, now launching Supernova sized ki-blasts at Gohan. Gohan could finally see Beerus sweating, he was at the point of finally needing to catch his breath. The ki-blasts exploded somewhere distant in the galaxy, likely destroying planets and moons simply due to their proximity. Beerus finally stopped falling for the trick, "Come fight me like a man!"

Gohan appeared below Beerus with the Afterimage and launched what seemed like thousands of punches into Beerus' stomach. While blood flew out of Beerus' mouth Gohan finally revealed his Super Saiyan 5 form, instead of giving Beerus a guided tour on the form he quickly went to his trump card, charging his attack as quickly as possible. "Ka-me-ha-me-ha!" The Kamehameha wave was a direct hit on Beerus, launching him into space. Gohan knew the attack alone would not finish off Beerus, so he guided the wave and his opponent through the sun first. Once Beerus came through the other side of the sun he was significantly weakened but was starting to regain his composure after the element of surprise wore off. Gohan yelled, "HA!" Shooting one more huge burst of energy into the attack. Like a fuse that has run out, the extra wave of energy finally made its way to Beerus and caused a blinding explosion. Gohan reverted to his base form and collapsed on the ground, panting, he succeeded in destroying the god of destruction Beerus, but he did not have the power to continue fighting. Something that greatly disappointed him.

Videl ran up to him and picked him up over her shoulder and cried. "Gohan, Gohan, I'm going to get you something to eat. We're going to get you better. You did a really good job out there."

Piccolo gave Videl a stern look, knowing he had to speak for Gohan, "Gohan is angry that he has yet obtained the power to protect the planet. After he eats, let him have a long time to meditate, and mentally prepare himself in case there is another threat on its way here."

Whis chuckled and took to the sky, before disappearing altogether. Suddenly, after Gohan imagined eating, he made the whole world around him disappear. He was standing mid-air of an endless pitch black void, he could not see anything. At this point though, Gohan embraced the darkness. It was a perfect opportunity to meditate, and try to eliminate his fear. "I'm not scared of here anymore," Gohan thought to himself, "but I have to get much more powerful than this to step into my father's boots. I know I have much more power inside myself, but I'm struggling how to find it. The Super Saiyan 5 form can be mastered perhaps, but I think it will be a lot easier to perfect my Super Saiyan 2 form to get most of the power without the consequences of stamina drain. I need to heal to get stronger but I don't have the time to!" The agony Gohan was facing inside the hyperbolic time chamber seemed to be taking years; he still did not consider himself ready to come out of the chamber. He was almost forgetting at this point that he was preparing himself for a mere Saiyan that may or may not exist.

Meanwhile, Nach and the Protection Squadron flew from the ground of the Earth to the upper atmosphere where the Tuffle space station was floating. The squadron boarded a hundred Saiyan pods, after performing self-tests the pods launched into the extant of space on their way to Frieza Planet 150. Lieutenant Omato, a relatively old yet muscular Saiyan with receding black hair, contacted Nach on his private line on his scouter, "Colonel, the soldiers are prepared to carry out their mission. They have been briefed on the Tuffle plan of attack and the objectives of the Protection Squadron."

"Good," Nach responded, "the first step to Saiyan universal conquest is to eliminate the Planet Trade Organization. Certainly someone on Earth will handle those Tuffles for me, then I will return there and become ten times as powerful as they realize."

Lieutenant Omato smiled, "Nach, I've reminded all of our men that we're the pride of the Saiyan race. Hand-picked to carry out the solution to this Universe's ills. Saiyans will be the only remaining lifeform left!"


	7. Chapter VII: Prepare For Attack

Chapter VII: Prepare for Attack

Bulla ran over with a brown paper bag from a roti shop as she entered the hair salon where her professor was getting her hair braided. Stuka was her beautician's favorite customer as she showed absolutely no pain during the entire process, no matter how fast the job was done. "Bulla, you're a life-saver." Stuka said as she pulled the roti out of the bag and took a not so feminine gigantic bite out of it. "Conch," she chewed practically with her mouth open with curry starting to drip down the side of her face, "very nice. I'll make time for you on my busy day." She then wiped her cheek with her wrist.

"I need another week Professor Phillips." Bulla asked. "Without more time for the grains to grow it will be difficult to see if the experiment succeeded, and I don't want to do anything to falsify my findings." Somehow, even though it was obvious she was in a rush, she did not appear like she was breathing heavily or even tired. Stuka found this peculiar but felt little of it, as she frequently makes contact with warriors capable of destroying solar-systems on a daily basis.

"Since my husband's probably out to the gym and you got me my lunch, consider it me who owes you a favor!" Stuka smiled with her eyes closed while a blue braid was being placed in, before taking another huge bite out of her food.

"I see, it brings out the blue in your face," Bulla noticed, "but it's hardly as blue as my hair."

Stuka's brown face blushed red before returning to its bluish undertone, "None more blue!" She joked. Then she asked a question out of the blue to Bulla, "What color hair does your father have?"

"His hair looks black most of the time," Bulla responded, "but it's actually a dark red."

"Ah," Stuka realized, "Your father has a recessive gene. That's why you look so much like your mother. I was always told I looked like my father though."

"Before I go," Bulla asked before she was about to turn around, "what's the special occasion?"

Stuka smiled giddily, "I need my hair to look perfect for the big announcement I'm going to make tonight. Consider yourself the first who knows about it!"

"I'll keep my eyes glued to the news." Bulla responded, "I'll see you soon!"

Roman was lifting weights in the gym with the other officers. Roman's comrades and General Cori thought he was crazy. "Are you sure your recruits are up to the challenge of handling the Z Fighters alone? You don't want your ranks reinforced with experienced fighters?" She pointed out.

"Could they handle the likes of Vegeta?" Roman pointed out, "Of course not. My recruits' mission is to not have the likes of Vegeta get involved, I'm sure the Earthlings will unwisely exhaust their resources with the weaker fighters."

"I think you have another reason Colonel that you'd like to tell us," she chided him while doing squats.

"You should worry about securing the lookout," Roman dismissed while continuing to do curls. "My men can take care of the Z Fighters satisfactorily."

"Men, women, leave." General Cori commanded, the gym was now empty of everyone but those two. "Roman, I speak to you as your Saiyan sister, why do you not want any further assistance? I'm sure I could spare many of my 2,500 soldiers whose task is to simply take control of an undefended wind current."

"As your Saiyan brother," Roman almost mocked, as if he felt he was being judged, "Is that I want to ensure that no one dies."

General Cori was stunned with rage, "No one dies? This is war!"

"No one dies before they have the chance to breathe the fruitgas, and become mated with Tuffle DNA." Roman tried to pass off as a legitimate reason.

"The world will be a lot better without the likes of Vegeta." Cori hissed, "We were alive to remember his brutal reign, how he sold us out to Frieza. How I had to kill thousands just to survive, how I had to make company with those so called high-class Saiyans as they spat names at me as if I was an animal. If I have to kill a few more to put my fighting days behind me, so be it. I'm not going to let such insane idealism get in the way of accomplishing the operation."

"I understand what you went through, how you had to become a missing casualty in battle just to escape the clutches of King Vegeta. I also appreciate you don't put my wife into the mix," Roman pointed out as General Cori was legitimately treating him as an equal, "all of my decisions get questioned due to my relationship with the Tuffle. However, you don't have to worry about my soldiers and I; our plan will catch the Z Warriors off guard. It'll be the only way to ensure our victory."

General Cori responded coldly, honestly, and pragmatically before walking away, "Your choice of timing for moral concerns is perplexing. I can't be too concerned, as I'm sure Saiyans in the heat of battle will have little choice but to kill when necessary. If your force of recruits dies in battle, I can send reinforcements from the Neo-Saiyan army easily."

Roman could do little but meditate afterwards, as all of his thoughts were consumed with anger. Eventually his wife came Stuka came back with some chicken patties for Roman, who atypically did not show any appetite. She did not know what was wrong. Stuka stood in front of Roman with regular street clothes, her nails done, her eye-brows touched up, and her new hair, "I'm surprised, usually there's a marked rise in your battle power when I come back from the salon…" Then she spoke with a more concerned tone, "We're two hours before the military operation we've been preparing our whole lives for, what's wrong?"

Roman came face to face with his wife, he was not mad at her, simply feelings he has been holding in were coming out. "The General volunteered some of the army's forces be used to reinforce my division of recruits."

Stuka was not sure why this was an issue, "Well, if you feel that the recruits are not powerful enough, there are plenty of soldiers to spare as the army's mission is simply to secure the lookout."

"The recruits are powerful enough to accomplish their objectives, but the only warriors who could fight Vegeta are my brother and the general herself. Vegeta is likely to wait to enter the battle until he finds a challenger who is worthy, which is one aspect the operation depends on. But when Vegeta finally does enter the fray, you or Zerstorer will get involved."

"That's fine," Stuka continued to be slightly dismayed, "like I haven't waited patiently to test my powers on Vegeta ever since my days in the camps."

"Kiki, I want to ensure that no one dies. Let the Fruitgas take effect instead of having casualties."

Stuka's good mood dissipated, "No one dies?" She yelled, "This is war!"

Roman did not show any fear despite the disparity in power, he remembered every day how weak she used to be. "Kiki, I finally figured out how your brother and you hatched your universal-domination scheme. When both of you enhanced your powers with Saiyan DNA, you also started to think more like a Saiyan. It's like the Saiyans' Tuffle DNA enhancements, we still have free will, but we're more inclined to think and act like Tuffles. Ever since your brother and yourself started this quest to be more powerful than Frieza, you've let your Saiyan side consume you."

Stuka was about to show extreme rage, yellow bio-electricity started to bolt out of her and damage the nearby surroundings in the lair, "I in no way have been affected by having Saiyan DNA! I'm the same exact person you met eighty years ago!"

Roman held back his tears and tried to cover up his emotion, "Ensure me that nobody dies. This operation can succeed easily without death."

Stuka was not surprised about Roman's idea, but how stupid she felt it was. If she had the opportunity to get revenge on King Vegeta by killing his son, why would she not? However, she did remember that while Prince Vegeta was an arrogant murderer back in their Planet Trade Organization days, the killing machine known as Vegeta has mostly been dormant since Frieza's defeat. She stepped back and thought about the fact that maybe there was not a good reason to be enraged at Vegeta, since it was mostly the Tuffle King and King Vegeta himself who brought the most ire into her life. She considered that maybe her intentions were clouded, yet that of her husband's, the man who saved her life in the camps and maintained loyalty for decades and cooked for her, intentions were pure. She decided to give her word, "I just had a serious moment of thought Rome. I don't know if it's the best idea, but I love you. I want to prove to you I'm the same meek girl you met in the camps, and how I appreciate that you saved my life. Whether I would have took it myself or I would have simply succumbed to illness or starvation. I swear I won't kill anyone."

Roman was surprised at his wife's genuine response, "You swear you won't kill anyone?"

Stuka blushed, and responded nervously, "Trust me!" Roman then picked his wife up, sweeping her off her feet. All she could do was happily stay in his arms as Roman brought her to their quarters.

On Frieza Planet 150 in Fridge's palace, Majuub warned Fridge of what was about to occur. "Do you feel that? How terrible it is?"

Fridge was perplexed, he swung his tail from one side to another, "What do you mean?"

"There's about a hundred of them coming this way, including that Saiyan I think you're talking about, and they mean harm." Then Majuub surprised Fridge. "But I'm not concerned."

Fridge was stunned, "Not concerned? Why?"

"I was trained by Goku, the Saiyan who defeated Frieza." Majuub smiled with pride, "He always told me that one day I would receive the responsibility for protecting the Earth and the whole universe. He always told me that my potential was limitless. I have trained with Goku, whether it was in person or spiritually for over twenty years. I didn't realize my potential until recently. My power and my magic abilities are unparalleled."

Fridge looked back at Majuub and was still unappreciative, "I hope you're right, don't make me regret not getting Prince Vegeta for the job. The best way of beating a Saiyan is with another Saiyan."

Majuub knew he was being insulted but he took it as an opportunity to surprise him, "You have no idea what I'm capable of!"

Two hours passed and there were the recruits, in full grey Saiyan armor with the red, white, and black Tuffle crest on the left side of their chests, in their base forms waiting at the bottom of Korin's tower. Nion, who has become the recruits' lieutenant continued to order his men to wait, "I'm surprised at the lack of military precision, we're here at 1600."

"I say we take the battle to them!" Said an excited Articho, "Why do we have to lure them to a defensive battle when we have the power to attack?"

"We can't deviate from our orders," Dorthea held him back with one of her hands, "wait for the Colonel to tell us to power up and give off a power signature. If they're running late, there must be a good reason—"

Suddenly, with a blue aura quickly disappearing as his flight ended, Roman appeared in his battle armor, fixing his hair. He communicated to his troops using his scouter, "Soldiers, I apologize for my tardiness. Increase your power to 50%, this will lure the Z Fighters into battle."

All at once, with an eagerness of combat that awaited the Saiyans, they started to power up at the base of the tower. Tien was the first to pay attention and fear the level of power, "I feel it now! Wow, they're amazing, there're a hundred of them!"

Krillin concentrated then was surprised, "Wow, you're right!"

18 did not act as surprised, "This seems like all of the other opponents we've faced in the last ten years or so, we have a sizable advantage."

Roman concentrated and a translucent-white aura appeared around his body. Goten felt this power and reported to the others, "This must be the Saiyan you were talking about Trunks!"

"It must be!" Trunks screamed, as he expected his opponent to be holding back. "Krillin, listen to me," he ordered, "get the senzu beans from Korin, we need them just in case the situation gets sticky."

"How many!" Krillin asked, being unable to make a logical decision.

"All of them!" Trunks yelled. The Z Fighters were still procrastinating, much to Trunks' irritation. "What are we waiting for?" He yelled out, "We have to find out why there's a hundred powers like this suddenly appearing on the Earth, Let's go!" All of the Z Fighters except Master Roshi started their descent towards the ground. Dende looked surprised that Master Roshi did not follow them after all of his training.

"I know you tried hard," Dende said admirably, "but even these opponents are beyond your well-honed skills."

"They're not just beyond his level of skills." Mr. Popo quipped while watering flowers.

Master Roshi lifted up his sunglasses, then let them drop back on his nose. He walked to Dende and said, "You may need me here, in case the going gets tough! Also, I used the lookout as my forwarding mail address and I'm expecting next month's issues any hour now!" A giant bead of sweat appear on Dende before he finally fell over.

Bulla, Vegeta, and Freon also picked up on the power while Bulla was recording findings in the greenhouse. Freon did not appear too concerned, knowing how strong Vegeta was, but he had to make a remark about the obvious, "That is the most Saiyans I sensed in almost a century, but that is not the power I felt back home. However, it makes me think, he must be coming... Why else would a hundred Saiyans appear out of thin air?"

Bulla seconded Freon's lack of worry, but was less concerned with what may happen next, "Trunks trains tirelessly to the point that he doesn't concern himself with the day to day operations of Capsule Corporation. He's definitely stronger than these guys, isn't he dad!"

"Yes," Vegeta agreed while wearing street clothes, hardly dressed for combat, "but only for now. I'm going to sit and wait until they are unable to handle the situation themselves. There's no need to show them all of our cards as so to speak."

Bulma finally got the gist of what was happening, she was unable to sense power but was obviously able to hear. "What's the point of letting things play out? It's never worked in the past."

"We have little choice but to be strategic," Vegeta responded with a level of confidence, "with Gohan and Majuub missing in action, we can't put all of our chips on the table just in case this power Freon's been talking about decides to arrive later."

"I agree," Freon responded, "even if there is a hundred of them."

Somewhere in the bowels of the Capsule Building, Beerus and Whis were weaing plumbers' uniforms and were fixing the pipes. "You feel that Whis!" Beerus sensed with excitement, "the Saiyans are here! Maybe one of them will beat Vegeta then, bang!" He suddenly started yelling, "I finally destroy this rock, then they can't breathe—"

Vegeta's voice suddenly buzzed on Whis' walkie talkie, "Do I hear work not getting done? Do I have to go down there and help you plot faster that way the east wing of the building has hot water?"

Whis defiantly crushed the radio device in his hand to Beerus' surprise. "We'll be Vegeta's slaves no more!" Whis announced to an audience of no one. "Ever since we lost that bet to Vegeta that his son Trunks was stronger than Verclere, our very own god of destruction, we had to pledge servitude to the Saiyan. When Vegeta's defeated we will slave away no more!" Beerus beamed before Whis' voice became gentle again, "Now let's finish the work on these pipes and report the radio malfunction to Lord Vegeta when we're finished with the task."

Trunks, Goten, Pan, 18, Tien, Krillin, Yamcha, and Chatzou descended to the bottom of the lookout to the Saiyans, all in their base form. Trunks stepped in as the leader of the Z Warriors. He walked towards Roman who was descending to the ground. He noticed the tails of all the warriors dressed in their Saiyan armor, with a strange diagonal red, white, and black crest on the right side of their chests. He also noticed that the Saiyan apparently leading them all had no tail of his own, it was quite peculiar. It did not matter though, whether they were friend or foe, he had to assess the situation. Trunks spoke confidently, "Who are you and what do you want? If all the Saiyans died on Planet Vegeta, where did you all come from?"

Roman did not bother lying or acting ominously, "We are the Romaine Division of the Neo-Saiyan Army, allies of the Tuffles. We are here to secure the planet from our opponents; that would be you and your comrades."

Trunks was surprised he did not hear anything curt, witty, or any maniacal laughter; it was almost anti-climatic. "What are you hiding?" He deduced.

Roman let out a rare Saiyan smile, this was too easy, "Seeing that Vegeta and Gohan are not here, may I ask you the same question?"

"You don't need to worry, I'll keep your hands full." Trunks responded confidently, "but I know a better place to fight than here, too many…" He started to trail off because there were not a lot of people around the lookout that could get hurt.

Roman deduced that Trunks did not know that the lookout was indeed a strategic objective for the Neo-Saiyan army. "How about the badlands," Roman suggested, "where your father and Kakarot had their first battle."

"Sure," Trunks said while gesturing the rest of the Z Fighters to follow him, "we'll follow you and your men."

Roman spoke at a volume only his soldiers could hear on their scouters, "Move out to battle positions, be prepared to execute the first phase of Citadel." Roman took off, with the rest of his soldiers following him. The Z Fighters took suit, and followed Trunks.

Goten flew close to Trunks, who was ahead of everyone else, "Are you sure we're not heading straight into a trap?"

"There's only one way to find out!" Trunks responded coyly, not concerned of the challenge awaiting him.

Zerstorer and Stuka were watching the badlands from a long distance in their grey military uniforms, black shin-high boots, gold shoulder pads, red capes, and military officer hats with the Tuffle crest symbol in the middle of where the black stripe met the bill and the grey top of the hat. "You're right Zero," Stuka said impressed to her brother, "they're exactly as stupid as you planned on them being."

Zerstorer smiled confidently, "I didn't achieve the rank of Field Marshal by not knowing what I was doing Kiki."

"You achieved it by promoting yourself to that rank, remember?" Stuka corrected him.

Zerstorer angrily turned his back on his sister, probably to hide his embarrassment. "Well, General just didn't have the same ring to it, Stuka." Stuka was starting to chew on something, he did not see what. "What's that? Hmmm… It smells sweet, savory, and a little spicey. Are you eating junk food during the commencement of the most important military operation since the original Citadel itself?"

Stuka continued eating, "Well, if you don't want to eat my groundnut sugar cakes so be it. I guess I'm going to have to eat all of these gingery peanutty brittles all by myself. And, oh… look at this. I brought soy milk, I know how you're lactose intolerant and all—"

"Very vanilla flavored?" Zerstorer broke from character, now being concerned whether or not his sister would share her junk food with him.

"Well of course, but, hey, this one-sided battle here's far too important. You wouldn't want to fight Vegeta on a full stomach."

Zerstorer snatched the rest of her treat from her hand, "Speak for yourself!" He said happily as he started chewing. Suddenly Roman and the Z-Fighters arrived within their view. "Hey Kiki," he announced with his mouth full as he saw everyone coming into their field of view, "Put on your scouter, view exactly how much power they're hiding."

Stuka floated up in the air as she was standing and gathered all of the readings quickly, "Exactly as our projections stated. The two Saiyans have the potential of about 250 a piece, the girl that looks so sure of herself is around 225. The rest are ants. Roman may kill them all by mistake due to their fragility."

"Good," Zerstorer announced while chewing, "Even if they're ascended Super Saiyans they'll fare poorly and be unable to intercept the lookout as General Cori and the Neo-Saiyan army unleash the Fruitgas in the source of Earth's wind currents."

"You may have to create another rank for yourself man, this is your best work yet." Stuka responded impressed.

"Simply 'Master' would suffice.."

Roman looked Trunks into his eyes, he was not the type to behave in a sinister fashion. "Let's cut the small talk," Roman talked to Trunks, "tell your friends to power up. I'm a Saiyan, I'm not interested in a moral lecture or posturing."

"Very well then," Trunks said, impressed at his opponent's simple nature, "let's turn it up!"

The Z-Fighters were furiously powering up with white auras around the each other them. Trunks, Goten, and Pan continued to stay in their base forms while their opponents continued to power up their base forms. "So, you save your Super Saiyan transformation when things get hairy?" Roman taunted Trunks, now acting less impressed.

"I'll be the judge of that." Trunks snarled, as it was everyone's habit to save the transformation for deeper into the fight.

The Saiyan pods finally landed onto Planet Frieza 150. Nach emerged from his pod, then his highest ranking officers, then the rest of the soldiers. His children Galbans and Pea walked to his side, anticipating what was happening next. "How will it feel father," his daughter Pea spoke to him confidently, "for the Saiyans to be masters of the universe tomorrow?"

Galbans, his son, who was exceptionally tall and muscular with short spikey black hair spoke, "Soon all of the half-breeds, and racial vermin in the universe will be systematically eliminated. This universe is only big enough for us Saiyans, with the advances in technology we'll ensure eternal Saiyan mastery. We're stronger than gods."

Nach turned around and spoke to all of his soldiers. All wearing black Saiyan armor with the angular "PS" Protection Squadron symbol. "We are now entering the last stage in the struggle for Saiyan survival. We are about to commence the first step of the solution to the universe's ills. For eons, we've suffered enslavement, whether it be from our past masters, the Tuffles, and Frieza. Now, feel the Saiyan blood flowing through your veins." All the Saiyans started suddenly transformed to Super Saiyan 4, with their tails puffing up and their eyes turning red with lust. "Remember the day you took control of your life again. The day you looked at the moon, and unlike so many Super Saiyans before you, you made the choice to survive, and tame the savage Oozaru within you! That penultimate transformation wiped clean your polluted Saiyan-Tuffle blood, and you felt what it was like to be a pure blooded Saiyan again! You made the choice to reclaim your Saiyan identity! From that day on you were no longer a Tuffle, your thoughts no longer impaired by this so called great mission for universal peace. The Saiyan's warrior body has been built for war! The day will finally occur where all the weaklings and those who have subjugated us through trickery and science will be destroyed! This is the first day for the rest of history, where only Saiyans will survive, and will only have worthy Saiyan opponents! Remember today as the day the Saiyan race triumphs! The day there were no more kings, no more so called masters, and no more so called allies to depend upon. We will have left just an universe of your, the Protection Squadron's, descendants. Only pure blooded Saiyans!"

The Protection Squadron yelled triumphantly in their Super Saiyan 4 form before reverting to their base forms. Due to the display of power, their violent red auras shook the ground of Frieza Planet 150, scaring the world's population. Nach himself though, remained in his base form the entire time, yet smiled confidently. With the Tuffles likely extinguishing any threat he was unprepared to face on Earth, the Protection Squadron can now begin their plans. Not that of Citadel, but of the complete domination of the universe by Saiyans, and the elimination of all who were not Saiyans.


	8. Chapter VIII: The Ruse

Chapter VIII: The Ruse

Roman looked unimpressed at Trunks, who along with Goten and Pan were still holding back a majority of their power. "I'll give you one more chance to bring out the rest of your power," he said pointing to his scouter, "I cannot only tell your latent ki, but I can also see projections of your full power. You're not tricking me by showing me maybe 20% of what you're capable of."

Trunks knew better than to trust readings from scouters, a crucial mistake his father made many times in the past. "You may not think it, but I'm full of surprises!" Trunks smiled as his long lilac hair blew softly in the wind.

"Have it your way," Roman smiled, "you're in for a whopper!" Quickly Roman used his Afterimage and quickly took the first strike on Trunks with a kick to Trunks' chin. Furious combat quickly reupted between them.

"Ready or not," the aged Yamcha exclaimed in his new gi, "here they come!"

The Saiyan recruits lunged at the Z Fighters in their base forms. On the most part their was parity between the Z Fighters and the Saiyans, in fact it was a shining moment for some.

Tien yelled, "Chatzou! For us to win we're going to have to work as a team!" Chatzou then quickly stopped two Saiyans who were about to assault Tien with his psychic powers. "Tri-beam!" He yelled, pushing the two Saiyans back.

Krillin was using his borrowed multi-form attack to fight three Saiyans at the same time. Two of the Krillin's were knocked down by two Saiyans while one continued to fight on equal terms. Krillin screamed, "Try this! Ka-me…" The opposing Saiyans then each shot a ki beam against Krillin. "Ha-me.. Ha!" Since the Kamehameha was an advanced attack, each of the Saiyans were knocked down by it.

Yamcha was putting up a great fight against two seven foot tall warriors. After each warrior landed a brutal hit on Yamcha, he wiped the blood off of his mouth. He said aloud, "I'm going to have to use one of my better techniques."

After one of the Saiyans achieved a scouter reading, he challenged, "Show us!"

Yamcha had some distance now, and he started running at the two Saiyans. "Wolf Fang Fist!" After landing a lot of hits on both the Saiyans, both were each launched into a mountain a piece, making the entire mountain cave in on each of them.

18 was holding off around fifteen Saiyans by shooting an inexhaustible amount of small kis at them. When even her opponents were able to sneak behind her, she would quickly be able to repulse them with a large ball of ki. 18 quickly took a reading and spoke aloud to her allies, "25 down, 75 to go. They're strong but we can handle them!"

After launching another furious kikoho, downing another three Saiyans, Tien spoke to Krillin, who already had his hands full, "I'm getting tired, it's hard to keep fighting at this pace!"

Krillin hit each of the four Saiyans assaulting him back a far enough distance and grabbed the small brown bag with the senzu beans. He exclaimed excitedly, "Tien, catch! Senzu bean!"

Tien ate the bean and his muscles gorged with strength, now he was able to continue his furious offensive against the Saiyans. In the distance, Stuka was smiling, Zerstorer gleamed cockily. "Good, the plan is working, Rome's idea not to kill anyone is working beautifully."

Stuka, whose braids were blowing in the wind, was admiring the senzu bean, "I was never able to create a pill to duplicate the effects of one of those beans. But I'm hardly a practitioner of magic."

Pan had a much more difficult challenge fighting Sergeant Dorthea. "If you can't transform into a Super Saiyan you're going to have too difficult a time with me!" Dorthea exclaimed, almost trying to bait Pan into transforming. The blue-haired beauty was able to land a successive series of punches into Pan's stomach before swatting her away.

"I am Son Pan!" Pan yelled with a violent blue aura, "Daughter of Son Gohan!" She launched a furious counter-attack complete with wanton destruction caused by ki attacks she missed with.

Dorthea was having trouble catching her breath from dodging the attacks. "I've heard of this Gohan! Tell your… father to enter the fray!"

Pan knew that her father was in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, with no way of communicating with the outside world. Pan finally landed a punch in Dorthea's face, "You have no idea who you're dealing with! My father would have no need to display his powers for a weakling like you!" Pan then launched a large ball of ki at Dorthea. It was a direct hit, sending the Saiyan into a group of rocks and causing a large explosion.

Lieutenant Nion had his hands full with Goten, who was outclassing him in hand to hand combat. "You're fighting style," the former-king said regally, "it's not quite Saiyan, but yet it's refined."

"I was trained here on Earth," Goten smiled confidently, "by my mother!" He continued to land series after series of hits on Nion, who quickly learned to keep his distance.

"You're good," Nion said trying to goat Goten on, "but we've barely started to scratch the surface of our powers. Show me your transformation!"

"Honestly," Goten smiled cockily while blocking physical attacks, "You're not worth it!"

Trunks on the other hand was taking his battle with Colonel Roman more seriously, despite the fact that neither Saiyan transformed yet. The battle more resembled a test of wills, as each of them were blocking well placed attacks, however, Roman's technique seemed to be superior. "I can tell you were trained by a Saiyan, Prince Vegeta in fact." Trunks did not yet want to ask Roman how he knew that, "however while you learned to fight in sparring sessions I have participated in full Saiyan combat, conquering worlds only for them to be bought and sold, until I came here."

"When did you come here," Trunks was asking while grimacing and blocking attacks, expecting his opponent to respond that he did not need to be privy to such matters, "where did you come from?"

"I was born on Planet Plant, in fact I am older than your father." Roman volunteered the information.

"If you're from around a hundred years ago, how come you do not look a day over thirty?" Trunks responded incredulously.

"I'm sure your father Vegeta has a good chance of looking younger than you do human," Roman said pridefully, "Saiyans have longer life-spans and retain their physical prime much longer than humans do. This as well as Tuffle-technology have extended my life and physical prime unimaginably."

Trunks stopped, "Be honest with me Saiyan, do I have a chance against you, even if I do transform?"

Roman was not one to act overly-cocky or dishonest, "You do not. Where is Vegeta, where is Gohan? There's little point in continuing this exercise."

Meanwhile, Yamcha and Chatzou successfully knocked out a Saiyan a piece. Yamcha even launched a Kamehameha at yet another Saiyan, knocking him out and making a large part of the ground explode. Yamcha and Chatzou were sweating profusely, "Wow, there's too much of them!" Yamcha said while panting, "I can barely keep this up!"

Krillin yelled, "Destructo disc!" He launched the kienzan at a group of Saiyans, forcing them to keep their distance from the two exhausted warriors. "Senzu bean!" He threw each of them a senzu bean, regenerating their strength instantly.

"Tri-beam! Tri-beam! Tri-beam!" Tien screamed while the veins on his head and arms were pulsating. "That should take care of another six of them." Tien exclaimed out loud. "Senzu bean me!"

Krillin flew over, "Senzu bean!" Tien ate the bean and yet again surged in strength, becoming even more powerful than before.

Goten at this point was making easy work with Nion, whose extreme military discipline was holding him back from transforming, despite the fact it has clearly become necessary. "I'm growing tired of this," Goten said disappointedly, "if you don't surrender, I may have to destroy you."

Nion jested back at Goten, much to his irritation, "You could say kill, it's not that anyone minds anymore. Give it your best shot Earthling!"

18 noticed at this point that she only had one opponent, who was fighting her a lot harder than the previous opponents she had. A lot of the Saiyans she was fighting were taking their chances at Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and Chatzou. She figured that this was simply due to the fact that maybe she was stronger or better able to keep up with ki attacks than them, then she noticed Tien launching his kikioho into groups of Saiyans, knocking them out, getting fed another senzu bean, then repeating the same attack into a new group of Saiyans. She looked throught the corner of her other eye and saw Yamcha execute another successful Spirit Ball, only for him to start sweating and panting, and for Krillin to fly over and dispense yet another sensu bean. 18 was at her last straw when she noticed another Saiyan warrior barely trying against Chatzou, and Krillin coming to Chatzou's rescue with a senzu bean. This caused 18 to try a very unorthodox strategy. Her opponent started landing furious hits on 18, she started to bleed profusely. Luckily, the Saiyan opponent did not get smart to her strategy. After 18 was almost down and out, the Saiyan warrior went for the finishing move, "Human, you're done!" She screamed before launching a large wave of ki from her two hands. Krillin flew over to rescue her, causing both off them to dodge the explosion.

18 said, "You saved me." To her husband and looked lovingly into her aging husband's small black eyes. Krillin was about to say something back lovingly before 18 kneed him in the stomach, causing his to drop the senzu beans into 18's hand.

Krillin yelled in frustration, "18! Why did you do that? It looks like Yamcha needs more help and I need the senzu beans!"

18 screamed loud enough for every warrior in the area to hear, "It's a ruse!" Every Z Fighter was stunned and everyone stopped fighting in order to hear the explanation. "The Saiyans wanted us to use all of our senzu beans, that way when Vegeta and Gohan finally show up, they will finally transform and bring out the big guns. They tricked us you fools!"

Yamcha was bleeding in his fighting stance, he reacted as if he did not hear a single word 18 said, "18, I'm in pretty bad shape, I think you need to give me one of the senzu beans—"

"You useless fool! You still don't understand!" 18 yelled, "We only have two beans left, and I don't know about you, but I'm saving one for Gohan and the other one for Vegeta. The only use any of us are in this fight are being cannon fodder. I can't believe we fell for it."

In the distance Zerstorer was laughing maniacally, he could not believe how well the plan was working, "Roman's men did not even have to transform into Super Saiyans to make them exhaust the magic beans!"

Stuka smiled confidently while drinking a soda out of a straw and glass bottle, "You were correct about the Earthlings being rather foolish. Now it's time to get Vegeta here, before we unleash the weight of the Neo-Saiyan army on the Earth."

"That sounds good to me." Zerstorer agreed, then he contacted Roman on his scouter, "Colonel, time to execute phase two of your operation."

"Yes Master." Roman agreed in the scouter while Trunks was looking right at him.

Trunks was growing with irritation, chiefly at the fact that now he had little chance in regaining his strength in battle. "Saiyan, could you do me a favor and tell me who that was."

Roman went straight to the point and again volunteered the information, "His name is Field Marshal Zerstorer. The leader of the Neo-Saiyan army and the defacto king of the Tuffle people, and us Saiyans." Roman continued to look down on Trunks, completely uninjured, "Now would be a good time to show me your ultimate transformation."

"You first," Trunks still smiled with faux bravado, "I insist."

"Very well then," Roman agreed, "there's no point in delaying this any longer. " He placed his finger on button of his scouter, "Soldiers, turn it up to one hundred percent!"

All of the remaining Saiyans transformed into various Super SaIyan forms while the injured Saiyans struggled to stand up before seemingly returning to full strength as Super Saiyans. The level of power they emitted was staggering, all of the humans at this point knew they were completely out classed. Goten's jaw dropped, "I'm not afraid, but I can't stop myself from shaking!" His opponent, Nion then transformed into Super Saiyan 3 in front of him.

Bulla dropped the bottle of orange juice she was drinking from, "Daddy! Freon! Can you feel that! It's mind blowing!"

Freon's jaw dropped as his disgust grew in not paying serious attention to the battle that was previously occurring, "It feels like there's a hundred Super Saiyans, how?"

Vegeta shared Freon's feelings of disgust, "Wow, that's unbelievable!"

Trunks was gritting his teeth as he was awaiting Roman's transformation. Roman looked at Trunks seeing if he would show him his ultimate form. Trunks continued his hardly convincing bravado, "Ladies first…"

Roman could not help but laugh a little, "Fine." A white aura appeared around him at it seemed like he became thousands of times more powerful in an instant, without transforming.

Trunks started trembling, "But… but… but… You're not a Super Saiyan yet? How?"

Roman smiled while the aura continued to flow around him, "I could posture and tell you how much power I am hiding, but I found that accessing a Saiyan's true potential happens right here in the body a Saiyan is born in. You see, we transform when we have the fear of not having the power to defeat our opponents. So, once the fear is gone, all you have left is pure power."

Trunks was trembling to the point that he was growing defenseless, "Impossible!"

Vegeta was sensing his son's danger, he was not having it. "Freon, come with me! This may not be the power you sensed, but he's strong enough, let's go!" Before Freon could try to take off with him Bulla ran towards the both of them.

"He's my brother!" Bulla yelled, "So I'm coming too!"

Vegeta transformed easily into a Super Saiyan 2, the sparks alone stopped Bulla. "You will not!" Vegeta said authoritatively, like a father, "You will not get yourself in danger."

"I can't let anything happen to Trunks," Bulla cried, "I can help!"

"No!" Vegeta yelled with his golden aura growing furiously, "swear on your dissertation that you will not join us in the battle!"

"No!" Bulla refused impolitely.

"Swear on it!" Vegeta yelled. Bulla almost sensed that the Saiyan inside him would actually fight her to the point of preventing her from getting in danger. She started to cry, and accepted her father's wishes.

"I swear on it. I swear on all of my crops for my project." Bulla could hardly hold back her tears.

"Freon," Vegeta said while reverting back to his base form, "let's go. We don't have much time."

Trunks then transformed to Super Saiyan 3 out of desperation, he looked towards his opponent for a response. Roman looked concerned. Unbeknownst to Trunks, this was because his scouter displayed to him a much high power level than his own, and it was now coming straight towards him.

Stuka's scouter set off a reading, "There's a huge power level heading straight towards us." Yet she did not appear concerned, "That must be either Gohan or Vegeta."

"Perfect," Zerstorer responded, "I will give General Cori the directive to commence the attack."

Stuka was hardly a tactician but she looked back towards her brother incredulously while sipping another soda, "Shouldn't we wait for both of them to join the fray to ensure that the army will be able to secure the wind current unopposed?"

Zerstorer scoffed, "General Cori and 2500 vastly more powerful Saiyans than these weak recruits are more than enough for Gohan. She can defeat Gohan with an arm tied around her back."

Stuka smiled, being put at ease, "Don't give her any ideas."

"General," Zerstorer spoke over his scouter, "Commence Citadel."

"With pleasure Master." Cori responded lustily to an indifferent Zerstorer. Out of the ocean appeared General Cori and 2,500 Saiyan warriors in Saiyan battle armor along with her. They kept their power signature down in order to not to divert any of Earth's forces to the lookout.

Trunks was still far outclassed as a Super Saiyan 3, so he was not only frustrated that he was taking damage quickly from Roman, but Roman continued to sweat with concern somehow. Pan turned Super Saiyan 2 and knocked out Dorthea easily, before finally killing her with a ki blast. "Our only card is the fusion," Pan yelled at Goten, "You must combine your powers with Trunks, I can take care of the weaker Saiyans!"

Goten, who had the upperhand again Nion still as a Super Saiyan took a brief look at Trunks struggling against Roman in his base, before agreeing to Pan's request. Goten flew over to Trunks, it did not take long to convince him, "Our trump card is the fusion." Goten requested, "We can destroy the Saiyan then mop up the rest."

"Got ya," a bleeding Trunks agreed.

Roman took a brief moment to see what the two Saiyans had in store, he had no idea what to expect since his scouter gave the reading at even at each of them at their full power were no match for him. Trunks and Goten started their dance, "Fu-sion, ha!" Suddenly Gotenks appeared in front of him. For two Saiyans two turn into one was purely illogical to him, he did not believe what he saw. Gotenks quickly transformed into Super Saiyan 3.

Roman was stunned, but he long conquered his fear, "400?" He read off of his scouter, "simply impossible!"

Stuka looked over angrily at her brother as this was not a part of the plan, "He's at 400 with room for much more. I don't understand, outside of Kakarot battle powers this high aren't supposed to exist!"

Zerstorer still smiled confidently, "It must be the Saiyan blood talking, but I'm a little bit intrigued. With Vegeta on his way here and seeing this strange new technique. I hardly fear that I'll be bored anymore."

Stuka turned her back and still spoke angrily, "I wouldn't have got my hair done and my nails _did_ if I knew I'd have to get my hands dirty."

"You may not have to, this mysterious warrior is consuming his energy relatively quickly. Let's see what Rome does with him and see him tire out a bit."

Roman continued stalling while Pan was fighting close to a hundred Saiyans with the humans. "This is a Saiyan transformation I've never seen before," he said looking through his scouter which was making indications of the exhaustion of his opponent's power. "Are you two beings, or one?"

"We are two beings made into one," Gotenks responded with the voices of both Goten and Trunks. "You see, we have combined our powers, our thoughts, our bodies, and our minds. You can call me Gotenks."

Roman continued to stall the battle, at this point maybe hoping for one of his masters to step in because they knew as well as him that he was outclassed. "You forgot one thing. I was raised on Planet Plant; I fought in the war between the Saiyans and the Tuffles. I know Saiyan combat inside and out, what combat have you done here on Earth?"

"Would you like to see?" Gotenks gestured, making an inviting motion with his hand.

A bead of sweat ran down Roman's face, behind him were the many explosions of the fight between his soldiers and the remaining Z Warriors. "Why don't you come over here?" Roman was becoming less convincing.

"What? Are you afraid of getting this?" Gotenks taunted as he pulled down his pants and mooned him.

"Well…" Roman responded uncomfortably, "I saw three things I didn't expect there…"

With Pan fighting at full power, none of the Saiyans, even the few in their hard-acquired Super Saiyan 3 forms were a match for Pan's years of training. However, their quantitative superiority gave them a large edge. 18 was only able to hold off so many while the humans on the defensive were close to dying. After 18 blasted one of the Saiyans a distance away as Pan knocked back Nion and Articho, 18 spoke out to Pan, "We're surrounded by them, we need to get as many as possible into the sky and knock them out with one of your attacks."

"How do we do that?" Pan responded feeling the drain of her Super Saiyan 2 form.

"If we can get enough Saiyans into the sky," 18 hypothesized, "we wouldn't have to defeat them on even terms, just simply push them into space where they can't breathe."

"Okay, I understand, tell Krillin and the others what they need to hear so we can make it happen." Pan agreed.

Roman was continuing to delay Gotenks, "So, you have not one victory in battle, and I'm supposed to be afraid of you?"

Gotenks was irritated, "I've won my share of battles!"

"Battles you have won as individuals cannot be included as victories in your fused form," Roman pointed out with a smile.

"My victory against Verclere the god of destruction was hard fought and hard won!" Gotenks' head grew large with stress and anger.

The Z Fighters mustered enough strength to take a majoirity of the Saiyans in the air. Pan finally had her chance, "Ka-me-ha-me…"

"Well, if you think you're so tough…. Tough guy, come over—" Gotenks complained then suddenly Roman yelled into his scouter.

"Soliders!" Roman screamed with great concern, "take cover!"

"Ha!" Pan yelled, launching her furious wave of ki to the sky. All but few of the Saiyans were able to hit the ground in time and dodge the attack.

At this moment, Gotenks took the first strike, punching Roman in the nose before kneeing him in the stomach. Before Roman could catch his breath Gotenks elbowed him to the ground. He extended his hand to finish him off, "Too easy!"

Roman pushed off the ground and used two beams of ki to launch himself into the air quickly, creating a lot of dust. Gotenks took to the air and they were fighting hand to hand on even terms. "You fight a lot like Vegeta." Gotenks remarked.

Roman, who was sweating bullets trying to keep up with Gotenks responded, "I'm not just a trained fighter unlike you, I'm an accomplished soldier."

Gotenks hid little of his confidence over him, "Unlike you, I have the power to defeat you. I'm much more powerful." He held his palm out at Roman, "Big bang…" Then he moved his arms back, "Kamehameha!" Roman was launched brutally into the ground. After the smoke cleared, his armor was damaged and he was scratched and bloody throughout his body. Gotenks flew down for the kill.

"I'm not out of tricks yet!" Roman smiled, he made a ring of ki with his two open hands, expanding it to be the size of his body. "Kill driver!" The attack was a direct hit on Gotenks, shooting him down into the ground.

"He's not doing too bad," Zerstorer smiled before looking over to his sister for her reaction. Stuka was not impressed, in fact she was fearful.

"If that… thing takes this battle seriously. He will die." Stuka tried to stop her ki aura from appearing around herself.

"I think he will last until Vegeta gets here." Zerstorer remarked as if he did not care about Roman's life.

"I can't take a lot of direct hits like that," Gotenks said catching his breath and wiping off his blood as the dust settled, "I may be more powerful than him but he's no slouch."

Suddenly through the dust Roman appeared aggressively, he reared his arms back while pouncing and charged a large ki blast at point blank. "Calamity Blaster!" He further flung Gotenks into another mountain, except this explosion was so large and blinding it caused Vegeta to step it up.

"Trunks!" Vegeta thought, now sweating, "he's in trouble!"

One by one, the humans were incapacitated. After a Super Saiyan 2 soldier tanked Yamcha's Spirit Ball, he swatted Yamcha away, making him unconscious.

Tien used the last of his strength for his Kikoho. He was able to defeat two Saiyan soldiers, making them too injured to continue fighting before falling over himself.

Chatzou gripped onto a low level Saiyan soldier to attempt to use his self-destruct technique, before he ripped him off and furiously flung him into a mountain. Krillin put his palm on his face in disgust. "We've had no chance this entire time; there was nothing we could do to help!"

18 then appeared behind Krillin and started firing what seemed like an unlimited amount of small ki blasts, "Krillin!" She yelled while keeping a dozen Saiyan warriors busy. "Use the Kienzan!"

Krillin looked up at her, "Right!" He raised his hand into the air and generated a flat disc of ki, "Destructo disc!" He was able to fire several discs, none of the blades scoring direct hits, but the Saiyans who met the attack were cut and lacerated, causing them to hit the ground to nurse their wounds.

When Roman looked into his scouter, he noticed three things. He saw that a majority of his division at this point was incapacitated, that they have lost the upperhand in the battle. He also noticed that Gotenks was still alive, and despite two direct hits of his most powerful attacks, he still had plenty of power to continue fighting. He doubted that Gotenks would continue to fight as foolishly. However, his Romaine Division succeeded in one thing, allowing the Neo-Saiyan army to arrive at the lookout. Roman's division took on casualties but strategically they succeeded. "Soldiers," Roman said through his scouter, "take up defensive positions." He joined his soldiers blocking the direct path that the Z Fghters would use to make their way to the lookout.

Meanwhile, in hell, Perfect Cell, General Rilldo, and Frieza were all arguing who was the top banana in hell. Piccolo, who was far stronger than all three of them was reading a magazine. He felt like he was condemned to an eternity of being a correction officer.

"It is the wise who should rule over those in hell!" Cell was arguing, "Since I have a perfect intellect, I am the most fit to lead all of the deceased!"

"No!" Frieza contested, "Hell should be ruled by the strong, since I have now become the most powerful out of all three with you, you must understand that might makes right! Since I have the most might—"

General Rilldo disagreed, "In practice it is the strong who decide what is just and what is not just. Since this is true, is not justice simply determined by those with power to inflict their wishes upon those who do not have power—"

Piccolo suddenly felt a power he could not believe, at his old home at the lookout. His jaw dropped clearly in sight of hell's strongest. "That power!" Piccolo was galvanized, "and they're heading towards the lookout with no one on Earth to stop them!"

General Rilldo mistook this as a comment that a part of their conversation, "That's correct, you see those with the power cannot be stopped in choosing what is just—"

"Not now!" Piccolo roared. He knew he had the responsibility of making sure that no one got out of hell to invade the universe and its living things. "Guys, you all are on the honors system that you will not create a portal to the living world. Do you understand?"

"If we all team up again," Cell said slyly, "what are you going to do to stop us?"

Piccolo thought about that fact for a second, he knew that he could not trust all of them with his back turned. Piccolo turned his head for a second before opening a portal for himself to the living world, "Frieza's in charge."

Cell turned angrily towards Frieza. "That is not fair!" He roared, "Piccolo knows my wisdom far exceeds yours!"

Frieza stuck out his tongue uncharacteristically, "It is a fact of the universe, that might makes right, which means I am the most qualified to watch hell while Piccolo is gone!"

Cell's aura turned blue suddenly and his whole body glowed blue, "No one sticks his tongue out at me!" Frieza reciprocated by instantly transforming to his golden form.

Piccolo appeared on the lookout in the nick of time before the Saiyans made their way there. Mr. Popo and Dende looked surprised that the former guardian and tyrant of the Earth cheated the ways of life and death. Piccolo was disgusted at their reaction, "Don't look at me like I'm dead, it's hardly the first time the laws of life and death have been broken in this universe."

Dende stumbled, "Piccolo… Uh, why are you here then?"

Piccolo's disgust only grew, "Like you can't sense thousands of significant power levels heading straight towards us? How could you be so stupid?"

Mr. Popo smiled now that the shock wore off, "He's not the first guardian I knew that didn't see it coming."

Piccolo knew better than to entertain Mr. Popo's glib remark, "Dende, we have no choice but to fuse."

Dende in no way wanted to surrender his individuality to a dead Namek. "In your dreams Piccolo! You shouldn't have decided to share your fate with the old Earth then!"

"Listen, my power has grown exponentially, but I still need any edge I can get!"

"He's got a point there." Mr. Popo smiled.

"Listen, you know without the dragonballs there is nothing you can do to protect the Earth. With our powers combined, we can protect the whole universe!"

Dende did not know whether he was afraid of the thousands of powerful warriors coming straight towards him, or if he was genuinely intrigued by the idea. "If we fuse…" Dende proposed, "You will protect the whole universe?"

"Yes." Piccolo screamed, "if I didn't care about everyone alive in the universe I wouldn't be here! You know, if I die here…"

"His soul dies forever." Mr. Popo finished the sentence.

"If that doesn't prove to you how serious I am," Piccolo yelled, "nothing will."

Dende tacitly agreed, "Sure," he put his hand on Piccolo, "let's give it a shot."

On Frieza Planet 150, Nach used a remote to have the Saiyan pods take to the sky. This was the cue for the Protection Squadron to get off the ground. Lieutenant Ubarb talked to Nach as they were ascending off the ground, "How sad." He lamented, "I would have imagined a little more action in executing our plan, considering the level of preparations we put into Citadel. Well, if there aren't Saiyans on the ground, it isn't too much of a loss. May I do the honors Colonel?"

"Sure," Nach said without any remorse whatsoever. "Make it quick though, we have a whole universe to exterminate. From here we'll split up as we planned."

"Yes Colonel, " Lieutenant Ubarb said nonchalantly as he made a small ki ball and hurled it towards the planet to commence its destruction. Suddenly the ball came back at him and directly hit him in the armor, only causing a crack. "What is the cosmos was that?" He said. Nach looked back at him incredulously. "Even the weakest soldier here could devasatate a planet without breaking a sweat!"

Nach laughed, "I'll show you how it's done." He made a slightly larger ball of energy and hurled it towards the ground. Suddenly, the ball of energy hit Ubarb again in his armor, making the crack larger. "That can't be!"

"There's someone waiting for us here on this world." The Lieutenant deduced, and started activating his scouter, "but who?"

"Lieutenant, I order you to ascend to your highest level of power and make this planet explode!" He yelled agrily. Without a word, Ubarb transformed into Super Saiyan 4 a made a large ball of ki. After charging it, he hurled it violently into the planet. Again the energy bounced back up, but this time far too fast to be evaded. The ball of ki was a direct hit into Ubarb, making him explode. This finally got the attention of the other officers.

"Nach, my scouter has received a reading of 415." Lieutenant Scalli waved her tail violently with worry. "It must be broken, only four or five in the whole universe have that level of power!"

Nach started counting mentally until he spoke. "Include those two dirty Tuffles, Cori, myself, and maybe Vegeta. This is beyond comprehension!"

"Colonel…" Scalli questioned, while tugging on the end of her hair. "I say we all launch strong attacks into the planet to force this warrior out."

Back on the ground, one of Fridge's soldiers was showing his lord the figures on his computer, or the lack thereof. "Lord, the powers that are attacking the planet are beyond comprehension, we cannot determine how powerful our foes are."

"I hate to ask," the shaking Arcosian said mutely, "how are we still alive then?"

"That Earthling you brought back with you," the soldier responded, "he's as powerful as they are!"

Back in the skies, Nach yelled, instantly a violent blue flashing aura appeared around him. "Completely unnecessary! Everyone will die this instant!" He shot a blue wave of ki towards the ground and felt it get swatted away almost in an instant. "No, it can't be!"

Suddenly Majuub floated into the sky with a pink aura around him smiling confidently. He was laughing right in the faces of the entire Protection Squadron. "It can, I wouldn't have held back if I were you."

Nach was too frustrated to respond. Scalli quickly got a reading on her scouter, "It says his power has increased all the way to 450, it says his potential power is unknown. I know for sure that the unit is malfunctioning!" She destroyed the device violently. Nach finally calmed down to take his own reading.

"My scouter has the same reading too." Nach looked directly into Majujb's eyes. "You bratty punk, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"You could have got a lot of people hurt, I already know who you are and I haven't even met you yet. I?" Majuub pointed to himself, continuing to act cocky, "I'm Majuub. Don't bother remembering it. You're not going to live long enough to."

Nach looked at Majuub angrily before his son and daughter floated in front of him.

"No one insults you, father, and lives," Galbans said angrily before transforming back into a Super Saiyan 4.

"There's no need to waste your time on this weakling," Nach's daughter Pea spat before transforming to Super Saiyan 4 herself, "Let brother and I kill him slowly and painfully."

Scalli looked up at Nach, "This does sound fun to watch Colonel."

Nach smiled and looked back towards his children. "If you do the dishonor of being defeated by this mongrel, I'll kill the both of you myself."

Galbans smiled lustily while Pea looked back towards her father, "I wouldn't have it any other way."


	9. Chapter IX: Outmatched

Chapter IX: Outmatched

General Cori and the Neo-Saiyan army appeared on the lookout, one of her colonels scanned the lookout for high power levels. "General, there is a power level of 300 on the lookout. Is Vegeta waiting for us?" Colonel Cucum, a long black haired burly Saiyan, suggested.

"No," said General Cori, not worried. "Vegeta's power level is heading towards the diversion. This one seemed to appear out of thin air. It must be Gohan."

Cucm was not worried, he signaled to four of his soldiers holding a large tank of Fruitgas. "My men will situate themselves where the wind current originates, you'll give the order to unleash the gas."

"Yes, I agree." Cori then communicated to the rest of her forces on her scouter, "Soldiers, take positions around the lookout and surround it."

On the lookout, Piccolo was trembling with fear. He saw all the Saiyans surround the lookout like a sphere in the distance. "Where did all these Saiyans come from?" Piccolo asked Mr. Popo.

"Logically, if Goku was one of countless infants sent to conquer an unknown world, there must be many many more just like him. This must be some of them, however I don't know how they got this powerful." Mr. Popo was concerned, but not worried.

General Cori made no bones about landing on the lookout and walking towards the high power level she detected face to face. She walked towards Piccolo, and looked surprised. "Piccolo? We haven't detected you for about fifteen years. Do you have any guests here?"

"It's just me." Piccolo said sweating, he knew he was no match for her, never mind the 2,500 Saiyans watching the spectacle. "Tell me what you want, I know we can settle this peacefully." Mr. Popo looked at this approach as interesting, but he too sensed that the large power was not wholly evil.

"I'm General Cori," the tall and beautiful Saiyan responded to Piccolo. "Our Tuffle masters have kept Earth's defenders occupied, now, unopposed we are going to release this canister of Fruitgas." She gestured towards the large tank before continuing, "Everyone that lives on this Earth will be transformed into a Tuffle. When the operation is complete, all the universe's populations will be transformed. We took care of not killing any one of your friends. We do come in peace, but do consider this a hostile takeover."

Master Roshi then made his only contribution to the whole situation, dropping his magazines while his nose bled, "Wow, she's an eleven on a ten scale! That's what I call a Super Saiyan! She can show me ten times gravity!"

Piccolo rolled his eyes and shrugged it off, but he was still sweating bullets, "I appreciate your honesty, but I won't give up without a fight." He threw off his turban and his weighted cape.

"You'll probably hurt your fist more than me if you manage to land a punch, so why bother?" Cori said completely unconcerned, she knew Piccolo was much weaker than her.

"Wait and see!" Piccolo powered up with a purple aura before taking to the sky, he saw that there was no way out of the trap the Saiyans set for him.

"Colonel, have one of your men put him out of his misery." General Cori said through her scouter, looking at a completely unconcerned Mr. Popo.

One of the Saiyan soldiers transformed into a Super Saiyan 3 and started fighting Piccolo on even terms. Piccolo shot a ki beam that missed her before she punched Piccolo so hard his body went right through the lookout. Piccolo felt hopeless as he did not have enough energy to fight over two thousand that were as strong as her. General Cori looked at Mr. Popo, seeing that he was not acting as a co-belligerent with Piccolo. She spoke into her scouter to her soldiers right in front of Mr. Popo, "Colonel, time to release the gas."

Gotenks was looking straight into Roman's eyes, he knew he was trying to block him from doing something, "I see, you brought all of us here on purpose. Can you tell me why?"

Roman was sweating, knowing that Gotenks did have the capability of killing him. "When Vegeta arrives here, he's on his way, I'll tell you. It will take less than a minute."

Gotenks knew his opponent was buying time, but he did not know for what. "If you don't want to tell me now, I'll get it out of you by force!" The Saiyan recruits, who were busy themselves with 18 and Pan, watched Gotenks unleash a brutal assault on Roman. Taking a swing at Roman's face with his left fist, giving him some swift kicks, before launching a purple wave of ki into the outmatched warrior. He was still able to hang in there, but he was bleeding from his nose and eye brow. "Do you want to feel more pain, or do you want me to end your suffering?" Gotenks said prepared to hit him again. Roman responded with a strong ki that Gotenks knocked away before he hit him in the stomach, and elbowed him back into the ground. Gotenks descended to the ground where Roman got up. "I see you have no Super Saiyan transformation, what a pity. This battle could have been exciting."

Suddenly Gotenks detected a large power make the scene. She floated down in front of Roman. "That's enough, I'm not going to watch you die."

Roman, a Saiyan after all did not think too logically, "Give me the chance to hold him off long enough until Vegeta gets here."

Stuka was worried but spoke authoritatively, "There's no need for that. Soon, this thing of a Saiyan will become a Tuffle anyway."

Gotenks laughed at the Tuffle, "Who are you woman?"

"If you listened to my husband, he'll tell you everything when Vegeta comes here." Stuka said with irritation. "Do you have somewhere to be man?"

"What are you going to do to stop me from forcing it out of both of you? Hit me with your fake hair?" Gotenks taunted.

"Don't vex me boy," Stuka's left eye started to twitch. She looked through her scouter and took another reading, "unless you plan on showing me your full power. There's nothing you can do to make this fight remotely interesting with me."

Gotenks thought she was bluffing until Zerstorer descended slowly towards her. "I would listen to her if I were you," he said authoritatively, "if there's anyone in the universe more powerful than I. Surely, it's her."

"You're a bad liar," Gotenks crossed his arms, "prove it."

"I see you're currently in your Super Saiyan 3 form and still hiding power man! Maybe you've figured out that so called Super Saiyan 5? You're energy will expire even faster." Zerstorer taunted. "As you are right now, my sister or I would have little trouble getting the upper hand. So… you are either going to wait for Vegeta to arrive or you'll show me your full power."

"You don't fool me with your bluff!" Gotenks yelled while lunging at Zerostorer and Stuka, his punch went right through their Afterimages, causing them to laugh at him.

"Ost Wind!" Zerstorer extended out his hand and aimed towards Gotenks, "Ha!" The attack forced Gotenks away like a strong gust of wind but it hardly proved that the Tuffles had the extreme upper hand that they advertised.

"So it's you two!" Yelled Vegeta out of nowhere, surprising both of them, "I never thought you'd make anything out of yourselves without your boss Frieza." Stuka and Zerstorer looked towards Vegeta who landed in on the scene with an Arcosian they recognized, Frieza's nephew Freon.

"We didn't want to start the party without you Vegeta." Zerstorer said while ripping off his military uniform, inexplicably revealing his purple jumpsuit and tan Saiyan armor with a Tuffle crest and a cape.

"Halt Zero, you hardly need to act like a Saiyan here," Stuka paused her brother, "There's no reason for Vegeta to fight a battle he's already lost."

Vegeta smiled cockily, "Tell me what you mean Tuffle; skip the posturing!"

Stuka smiled as Roman and the other Saiyans made themselves visible in Vegeta's path of escape, "Considering you got here too late, there's nothing you can do to prevent the whole world, including you, from being transformed into Tuffles."

Gotenks' aura started glowing while Vegeta took to a fighting stance, he clenched his fist, "The whole world? How?"

"You see that all of Earth's greatest warriors are here in one spot, far away from where we are going to disperse the Fruitgas. When you breathe in the Fruitgas, your genetic code changes, slowly, all the new cells created by your body will have Tuffle DNA. There's no need to fight, it's already too late. You were tricked by the diversion, and your friends already ate most of your magic beans. You lost!" Stuka started laughing happily.

Vegeta and Gotenks started trembling angrily while Freon lifted his eyebrow. An arrogant Zerstorer started to speak, "You see, it is our pure Tuffle cunning that permitted us to survive all of these years. From our defeat in the war, to our near extinction by Saiyan hands. Since then, my sister's studies of genetics have bridged the gap between our power than that of Frieza. Now that your strongest Saiyan warrior, Kakarot is dead, there's no one alive with the ability to defeat us."

Stuka interrupted before Vegeta could respond, "Even if Kakarot's son decides to emerge from the shadows, over twenty five hundred Saiyans are waiting for him, you're barely seeing the power and might we're capable of."

"How in the world did you Tuffles survive?" Vegeta growled, "Not only my father, but Frieza himself hunted you down like dogs!"

"Vegeta, the same way you Saiyans survived," Stuka explained, "Frieza had a relative liking for you, the King's son and his general Nappa. Frieza did not want to eliminate those who were useful to his bottom line. You're thinking, how about the others like Raditz? Or the thousands of other assumed dead because no one could find them? Even so called gods like Frieza are capable of oversights. You see, I was a part of the madman's bottom line; I proved much too useful eliminat. So, I was simply a Tuffle he kept around for convenience."

"Personally I lived many years pretending I was not a Tuffle under Frieza's service," Zerstorer admitted, "by the time the fact became common knowledge, I already proved my loyalty continually. You see, after Frieza permitted both of us to come to Earth for our project, what you see culminating here. However, it was hardly the last time we saw the tyrant. We were loyal to the end he believed."

"Too convenient," Vegeta was in disbelief, "maybe when he came back as a cyborg he was planning to kill all of you on his way out."

"Now Vegeta," Zerstorer crossed him arms after wiping the sweat off his forehead, "Maybe if you used your pathetic life to earn Frieza's trust, he would have treated you like you were loyal. Whatever man, if you had any capability to serve Frieza rather than cowering to him as a fake father figure of sorts you would be here with us rather than in Kakarot's shadow for the remainder of your life." While Zerstorer was laughing Freon started to chuckle, causing him to stop. Stuka glared towards him angrily, and Gotenks' aura disappeared.

Meanwhile Freon continued to chuckle, "The very fact you think you outsmarted us _,"_ he stressed, "is laughable."

"Freon," Stuka responded with a level of familiarity, "what do you mean?"

"Do you two Tuffles really think that Frieza was simply fooled into letting you have your science project here on Earth, while taking some Saiyans along with you?"

Zerstorer gleamed angrily and turned his head towards Freon instead of Vegeta, "Stop speaking rhetorically and get to the point! We don't answer to any of you Arcosians anymore."

Vegeta, Gotenks, and the rest of the Z warriors were listening closely to the Tuffles and the Arcosian. Freon responded with a level of jest, "You two think you are so smart. You see, I was governing Frieza Planet 62 while your mothership infringed on our airspace in the galaxy. Our men were ready to shoot your ship down until our computers communicated that Lord Frieza himself permitted your ship's coordinates to Earth. Knowing that there were multiple Saiyan-like power levels on the ship and that Frieza and the Arcosian council already decided upon Planet Vegeta's fate, I went to my Uncle myself and asked him permission personally to destroy you. He simply responded that he liked his two low-level Lieutenants and that your intentions were loyal to the Planet Trade, thus he did not care if you brought two weak Saiyans with you. Take that as a compliment, Frieza had affection for few."

"Frieza's dead, Acosian." Zerstorer spat out with little appreciation, "You see, soon your father Fridge and his subjects will be Tuffles too. You do not realize the genius of our Operation Citadel. With the Planet Trade Organization under Tuffle control and the strongest warriors of the Universe here on Earth becoming Tuffles, or possibly destroyed, soon the universe will be under my control."

Stuka spoke with a little more respect to Freon than her brother, "You have a brilliant mind Freon, you'll make a good Tuffle. You will continue your life ensuring peace in the universe; except now it is truly possible due the homogeneity of the Tuffle race."

"Both of you make me sick, your own kind did not consider you Tuffles and now you wish to bring them back? Look at you now, dressing exactly like the Tuffle King and his thugs who persecuted your ethnicity. You do not know how to better the universe, only how to act like the ones who oppressed you. The Saiyans were the best thing that ever happened to you Tuffles." Freon responded in disgust, "The very fact Frieza let you two unappreciative scoundrels live is the supreme act of mercy. End your Citadel now, it is not too late!"

Stuka and Zerstorer started laughing. Zerstorer pointed out, "Keep talking Arcosian, very soon you will breathe the mist of the Fruitgas and be a loyal Tuffle yourself."

"You won't lose your freewill," said Stuka while looking at her Saiyan division, "your freewill will simply… change."

"What a pity," Freon spat while a purple aura appeared around him, he started to get angry. "The hundreds of thousands you killed for Frieza affected your mind Lieutenant Zerstorer. How many decades have you lived with your scars? The billions that died as a result of your technologies should weigh heavily on you too Lieutenant Stuka. If you want a second chance at life, if you want to be at peace with yourselves… Give up your Operation Citadel, now!"

Zerstorer smiled viciously while he glanced at his sister, who did not know what he had planned. Suddenly Yamcha, 18, Krillin, Chatzou, and Tien were pulled away from mid-air and unable to control their bodily movements. Stuka continued to look surprised while Roman looked down, "Don't do it…" She said quietly.

Zerstorer simply chuckled, he did not even flex a muscle or exert any effort. Suddenly, the Z-Fighters floating in the air were screaming as if they were in unbearable pain. Vegeta yelled, "What's happening?"

A dumbfounded Gotenks could only uster a few short words, "I don't like the way this looks."

While maintaining a cold and uncaring expression, Zerstorer simply looked towards Vegeta and Gotenks while the bodies of the hapless Z-fighters were writhing in pain. First, they spat blood from their mouthes. Then it became clear the Tuffle was burning their bodies from the inside. Vegeta, in a moment that more so resembled his rival yelled, "You monster!" He extended both of his arms forward and exerted a huge wave of ki like he did against Recoome on Namek. As Zerstorer was launched into a mountain, which exploded, the bodies of the Z warriors fell to the ground unconscious. Stuka quickly utilized her scouter while looking at the smoke and was quickly relieved. Vegeta looked surprised while his ally spoke to him telepathically.

"How was he able to access so much power so quickly? I did not sense that level of energy latently in him!" Freon glanced at Vegeta.

"Focus your energy," Vegeta responded telepathically, "you need to be able to access enough of your power for your trump card without those two detecting an increase in your power level to maintain the element of surprise."

"These aren't the same scouters you used working for Frieza Prince Vegeta," Stuka spoke to him, "it projects you were only using forty percent of your strength, it was foolish to take the first strike without transforming."

"It's strange," Vegeta wondered aloud to his opponent, "I last saw you when I was a teenager, and you don't even look a day older."

"You don't look bad yourself Prince Vegeta," Stuka complimented him, "you may have got a lot older but I think you look far more distinguished, I like the beard you have going."

Vegeta was blushing and scratching his head until he saw Freon give him a dirty look, "You don't want any of this, Tuffle. You don't know the type of Saiyan you're dealing with."

"Am I dealing with one of those so called high-class super warrior elites?" Stuka mocked.

Vegeta started to grow angry and proud. "You are dealing with not only a super elite, but you are dealing with the purest Saiyan bloodline, the ultimate warrior!"

"Says the motherless prince whose father made most of his company with Tuffle girls." Vegeta looked incredibly insulted as the Tuffle insinuated he came from a polluted bloodline, "Have you ever wondered why you're so short while other Saiyans are so tall? Have you wondered about your Tuffle like height, and cunning?"

Vegeta's hair quickly turned blue along with his aura, at this point the smoke cleared from Zerstorer who started reading Vegeta's power projections on his scouter. "His power, the projections, they're changing! I don't understand!" Zerstorer started sweating.

Vegeta started getting ready for serious battle in his Super Saiyan God form, "Can a mutt like me as you say have the power of a god? Even if you knew about our transformations, this is one you've never seen before."

After the shock of Vegeta's increased power wore off, Stuka looked back at him with her scouter ascertaining the readings, "… and you're not even showing me your full power yet." Stuka then laughed surprising Vegeta, "Neither am I."

Vegeta became angry, "What? What do you mean?"

"Just to think I spent almost five hours on my hair, such a pity." She looked upset, then regained her composure, "Saiyan transformations, including your new blue one mean nothing. I too am capable of your transformations, even with less than a fraction of a percent of my blood being Saiyan."

"You liar! Stop bluffing!" Vegeta scoffed. While Zerstorer was laughing his sister started screaming as a large golden ki glowed around her violently. Suddenly, a quarter of the way down half of her hair became gold while the other half of her braided hair continued to hang down. Vegeta started to tremble, "What? Impossible!"

"Not good!" Gotenks stated the obvious while the Tuffle's transformation was continuing.

While Stuka continued screaming, her military uniform started disintegrating off of her body, revealing tan Saiyan armor with a cape, Tuffle crest, and a dark blue jumpsuit. Her pupils disappeared from her eyes and her aura now beamed all the way into space, like a big gold wave of light was appearing from the ground. Suddenly the bio-electricity became violent, before finally the braids were ripped out of her hair by the distinguishable Super Saiyan 2 hairstyle. Stuka spoke as her aura continued to glow and her bio-electricity continued to destroy the dirt and rocks around where she was standing. "What a waste man, my hair…" Stuka lamented as if she was paying little attention to Vegeta.

"You witch!" Vegeta screamed before turning Super Saiyan 2 himself on top of his Super Saiyan God transformation. "How?"

"I see that you too figured out how to draw your peak power straight from the Super Saiyan 2 form. Good! The more you transform the quicker your power exhausts." Stuka responded calmly.

Zerstorer looked at Gotenks, and less dramatically transformed into Super Saiyan 2 as well. Since his head was shaven, only his beard glowed gold but the iconic bio-electrity still violently flowed from out of his body. "I see that your energy is expiring quickly, Saiyan." Gotenks trembled before erupting into his Super Saiyan 5 form, with his hair growing white and now hanging down his shoulders.

Vegeta knew he was wasting time since the so called Fruitgas could be discharged at any second, he lunged at his Tuffle opponent with Gotenks quickly following suit against Zerstorer. The most difficult battle of their lives began.

Meanwhile on Frieza planet 150, all Majuub could do was smile cockily as Galbans and Pea were ready to kill him. Galbans was insulted at the fact he was not feared, "Simple human!" He groaned, "all you could muster is a smile moments before you plan on dying? How pathetic."

"Do you really underestimate the power I am capable of?" Majuub laughed, "Do you really think the student of Son Goku, the most legendary warrior in the universe would be some pushover? I don't like to talk the talk." He gestured with his hand, "I like to walk the walk."

Both of the Saiyans transformed directly into the Super Saiyan 4 forms before both of them lunged at the magical being in both directions, colliding with each other due to Majuub's Afterimage. Both of Nach's children looked embarrassed as the rest of the Protection Squadron watched, ready to laugh. Nach looked at his children and gestured to look up in the air where Majuub was laughing. "Is that really the full extent of your power? I know tortoises that are faster than you!" Both Galbans and Pea increased their power to their maximum extent, with their golden auras becoming extremely violent. Galbans and Pea continued to gang up on Majuub with little effect, as they were obviously outmatched. Due to that they tried a new strategy. Galbans decided to fight Majuub one on one, and take the majority of the beating. While Majuub was distracted, Pea launched a ki wave towards the surface with the intention of destroying the planet. Majuub instantaneously appeared of the ground and knocked the wave into the sky. He gave both the Saiyans an angry look, "If you're going to try to destroy the planet, I'm going to have to take this fght seriously!"

Now, every Saiyan except Nach was sweating bullets. "Men, he's bluffing!" He tried to convince them. His three Lieutenants, who had a feeling this warrior was stronger than what they planned for made their move to the mysterious Earthling. "Colonel," Lieutenant Omato spoke to Nach on the scouter while flying with Scalli and Ubarb, "we know what to do." The three of them wrapped themselves around Majuub, who used his energy to bring his opponents and himself far in the air. A blinding light was seen throughout that galaxy as the three immensely powerful Saiyan warriors ended their lives, almost destroying the planet in the process. In the air, there was only smoke left. This mysterious threat seemed to no longer exist. Galbans and Pea looked up at their father who shot death beams from each of his index fingers through their hearts.

As his men looked at the Colonel's children hit the ground without any life left in them, Nach spoke, "Not that their sacrifices would have worked." Explaining that his children self-destructing would be futile, "the very fact they were not ready to sacrifice their lives to win against their opponent shows how pathetic and unworthy they are. I will have to live with this dishonor. Now, I have lost both of my strongest and most intelligent comrades. Soon when we extinguish all but Saiyan life in the universe, their sacrifices will be remembered." The remainder of the Protection Squadron put down their heads, before Nach broke the silence, "Now it's time to destroy this rock, ready the ships."

Vegeta and Stuka fought on equal terms hand to hand, a fact which frustrated Stuka. Vegeta started taunting his Tuffle opponent, "It feels much different to fight against a Saiyan than to spar against one doesn't it?"

A frustrated Stuka was dodging Vegeta's punches and kicks, she responded, "Don't get too cocky Prince." Vegeta then landed a blow in Stuka's stomach, causing her to extend her hands to Vegeta's face, then launch a ki-wave point blank for a direct hit. "Hurts? Don't it?"

"I'm sorry I didn't come here to visit the bakery, I've come to fight." A bleeding yet not discouraged Vegeta lunged, "You're yet to see the limits of my techniques." Both of them continued evading punches and kicks while Roman and the Saiyan recruits simply watched the spectacle.

"Stuka," Roman said aloud to himself, "you have by far the advantage in power, yet when fighting hand to hand with Vegeta you are unable to gain the upper hand. Use your speed to make distance between yourself and the Saiyan."

Stuka successfully slapped Vegeta through a mountain who came back and punched Stuka on the side of the head. While she was busy trying to regain her balance, Vegeta wasted his time continuing to taunt her, "There's a reason scientists don't fight. Look how well it worked for Bardock."

Stuka became angry and her golden aura appeared again, "You don't know the first thing about Bardock!" Instead of trying to punch or kick Vegeta she charged into him and pushed him away a decent distance. "Twin Cannon!" She yelled starting to launch glowing orbs from each of her hands into the Saiyan. The level of accuracy and damage she achieved against Vegeta was astounding. Even with the smoke, it was difficult for Vegeta to hide because she simply used her scouter to detect the location of his power rather than relying on ki-sense alone.

"Her ki…" Vegeta thought, "It's amazing! I have to get close to her, it's the only way I'll have a chance. I won't last much longer and this is hardly a finishing move."

Freon at this point was floating in the air next to Pan, apparently they were discouraging the rest of the Saiyans from entering the fray. "I sense their powers," Freon spoke to Pan, "Vegeta is not close to as powerful as the Tuffle, but she has a weakness. She may have an astounding level of power but her training seems simply satisfactory, not that of a dedicated warrior. If Vegeta gets close to her he can close the gap between them."

"How about my Uncle Goten, how's he faring?" Pan worried.

Freon took a moment to sense their powers, "With that strange fusion technique he performed with Vegeta's son, he has a minor advantage. However, his adversary is smart, he knows his power is dropping rapidly."

"Gotenks!" Pan yelled to no effect because only Freon could hear her, "Go big or go home!"

"What a strange technique!" Zerstorer said while buying time, "I would have never known that two Saiyans could combine their powers. Is this a technique all of you Earthlings have perfected?"

Gotenks stopped and went into his fighting stance, "Why don't you wait and find out?"

Zerstorer continued to fearlessly assault Gotenks despite not having the upperhand. Both were bruised, but not deterred. Gotenks had a clear shot on the Tuffle, reared his arms back and put them both in front of his chest, "Big Bang Kamehameha!"

The Tuffle saw that he could not dodge the attack, he extended his right hand, "Ost Wind, ha!" He used his ki to blow away the powerful attack. Gotenks attempted to get up close to the Tuffle to try to continue to beat him with physical attacks, "Whirl Wind!" He was able to keep a safe distance from the fused Saiyan until his opponent lost the initiative. Zerstorer socked Gotenks in the stomach and again on the left side of his head until the Saiyan pummeled the ground creating a crater. The Tuffle tried to do a technique that resembled the Revenge Deathball, a black sparking sphere of ki, but Gotenks got up in time and avoided it.

"Pathetic!" Gotenks panted at the frustrated Tuffle, "Your lame Tuffle techniques can't pose any threat on a Saiyan, a warrior race. Go back to doing science experiments so you can find the amount of valence electrons in moronanium!"

Zerstorer was confused at the insult, "Another insult from a soon to be dead aging Saiyan. You don't want to know what I'm capable of."

Vegeta continued to pummel his Tuffle opponent, Stuka wiped the blood from her mouth before smiling. "Come back here you coward!" Vegeta yelled. With her superior speed, she dodged Vegeta's lunge, then put him in a full-nelson hold. "What are you going to do? Bleed on me?" Suddenly Stuka's aura glowed a violent gold and she took Vegeta into a nose dive.

She yelled a deafening siren-like noise that prevented Vegeta from trying to elbow his way out. Before both of them hit the ground, she threw Vegeta and yelled, "Dive Bomb!" Vegeta hit the ground viciously first before a bomb of ki exploded on top of him. Stuka landed on a mountain to catch her breath but her scouter started giving her readings that stymied her. "I don't understand! My attacks worked in the controlled environments!"

A bloodied Vegeta was laughing, his clothes were all but mere tatters except his white gloves. "Your Tuffle attacks… So useless!" Vegeta powered up again with his crackling Super Saiyan 2 aura, "Come meet your demise you coward! If you can't fight like a Saiyan, you can't beat a Saiyan."

Roman started talking to Stuka through his scouter, "Kiki, there's no reason to use Tuffle attacks on him. You were trained by the universe's most powerful Saiyan warriors, including myself. Vegeta hardly knows how to fight a Saiyan, but you do."

Stuka stopped catching her breath before suddenly her muscles bulked up slightly and her power increased yet again. Zerstorer did not need someone to chide him from not holding back, "I hate showing my hand!" Zerstorer thought to himself, building with rage, "If my men have to feel my full power, to beat a nameless warrior, so be it!" Zerstorer did not quite ascend into a new form, but his muscles gorged in strength and it seemed like he grew even taller. "Come here trickster!" He yelled to Gotenks. "Your time's running out, your power's deteriorating!"

Back at Capsule Corporation, Bulma walked into the greenhouse where Bulla was trembling and crying. For a long time, she disagreed with Vegeta training his daughter. Though Vegeta always made sure Bulla was more powerful than the average human, by teaching her ki control and flight, he did not train her as a serious warrior until Goku departed with Shenron. However, Bulla hardly was ever put into a serious test. "Bulla," Bulma worried, looking at her trembling daughter, "I know how you feel. I've spent decades of my life following the likes of your father, being a front seat spectator to the universe in the balance. I'll tell you why I'm here somewhere safe with you."

Bulla's trembling was building into rage, "Why is that mother?"

"I've learned that to show faith in Vegeta, your father, the Prince of all Saiyans. I need to give him my vote of confidence. Deep in my heart, I know he's going to be the sole victor of this battle, I don't need to watch a foregone conclusion." Bulma put her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Do you feel those power levels?" Bulla trembled, "They're unimaginable! They're stronger that Vegeta and Trunks! How could daddy winning be a foregone conclusion!"

"I've lived a long time, though it doesn't look it," Bulma winked, "now that Goku is gone, Vegeta will learn that he has no limits. It may be scary, because not even he knows that yet."

Some bioelectricity sparked from Bulla, causing her mother to walk back, "So we are to stand here while dad is fighting for his life. Thinking he'll win due to the virtue you have faith in him is wishful thinking. There's no way he can beat someone so much stronger than him!"

Beerus smiled lustily while watching both of them speak from the sky due to the thought of Vegeta's demise coming soon. "You can say that again!" Said the god of destruction. Suddenly, like déjà vu, Beerus said again, "You can say that again!" He looked back towards his master Whis and smiled, "Well played Whis! Well played!"

"Oh you!" Whis chuckled, "I could let you say that again but it takes me a whole day to gain the power to reverse time for three seconds again."

"You pathetic Tuffle!" Vegeta roared, "Come here and get some of this!" Stuka confidently invited Vegeta over with her index finger, "Have it your way, if you want the last moments of your life to be yelling for mercy at the hands of Saiyan royalty, so be it!" Vegeta took flight at lunged at the Tuffle.

"Ostwall…" Vegeta crashed into what seemed like an invisible wall before the Tuffle kicked the Saiyan in the air. "You don't think I know how to fight like a Saiyan?" Stuka started to scream before taking both of her palms to stretch out a large orange ring of ki. "Kill Driver!" It did not take long for the projectile to close in on Vegeta. The attack was a direct hit, causing Vegeta to fall into the ground before his opponent started pummeling him hand to hand.

"Where did that come from?" Vegeta thought while trying to stay alive from the Tuffle's vicious counter attack, "I have only seen that kind of amplification come from another Saiyan!"

Roman looked over to his soldiers and spoke to them through his scouter, "The Saiyan prince is starting to realize what he's up against. Now that he took that hit our master can fight him hand to hand on equal terms, it won't take long Vegeta to try his long game, where he'll stand no chance against her."

Vegeta knew he was not growing any stronger at this point in the battle, while he inflicted damage on his opponent, she was inflicting far too much major damage on him. After finally stabilizing his defense against her, he punched her hard in the face and flew backwards to make some distance before planting his feet in the ground, "Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta starting launching ball of ki after ball of ki. To minimize the effect Stuka crossed her arms in front of her face and the top half of her body and let the attacks explode on her. Her lower arms were bloodied and the jump suit no longer went above the elbow, but she witnessed a tiring and desperate Vegeta in the distance.

While shooting what seemed like thousands of small ki beams from her finger tips she yelled, "You're running out of tricks Vegeta! Show me your greatest attack, the Gallic Gun! It's no secret!"

"Fool!" Vegeta thought to himself, "She has no idea how well I perfected my Final Shine!" Vegeta started powering up as the Tuffle continued her assault from the distance.

"I know time's running out!" Gotenks thought to himself as his equal footing was starting to slip away against the Tuffle, "but I can't get too far from this guy, and the Kamehameha is my best chance!"

"Your power!" Zerstorer laughed, "Is declining rapidly! You'll be under 500 in less than a minute, if you're going to make a move, make it now!"

"I still have a good hand to play!" Gotenks responded before sending a volley of relatively weak ki attacks against the Tuffle, only causing some and dust to appear.

"So ridiculous, you're best move is to get dust in my eyes?" Zerstorer yelled while covering his eyes. "I think you're about to hit the end of the line"

"My moment is now!" Freon yelled desperately.

"No, not yet!" Pan dissuaded him by grabbing his tail.

Controlling his frustration, the Arcosian asked, "Why?"

"My uncle's got this!" Pan smiled with her eyes closed.

"Your uncle got what? What does he have?" Freon questioned her confusingly.

"He has this situation taken care of! Just watch and see!" Pan grinned than winked.

"If he has this situation taken care of," Freon questioned, "than what in the cosmos does he 'got?'"

Gotenks, with his white Super Saiyan 5 aura electrifying his body readied the Kamehameha.  
"You're big and ugly face is about to be finished off!" Gotenks then started to rear back his bulging arms. "Ka… Me… Ha…"

Zerstorer started to power up to meet Gotenks' attack, "I see what you tried to do there, with your head start."

"Me…. Ha… Me…"

"Show me what you got Saiyan!" Zerstorer yelled.

"Ha!" Gotenks launched the legendary wave of energy straight into the Tuffle's way. Since Zerstorer did not power up adequately, his best option was to deflect the attack.

"Whirl Wind, Ha!" The Tuffle kept himself alive by using a strong wind to push the Kamehameha back enough to prevent himself from getting hit.

"What's he doing?" Gotenks thought, observing that instead of attempting to participate in the beam struggle he was simply holding back Gotenks' attack a safe distance. "I need to put all of my power into it."

"He's tiring at a rapid rate. I expend only a modicum of my energy with my Tuffle-style wind attack while the half breed grows increasingly tired."

Vegeta and the Stuka were both powering up. The Saiyan prince was expecting a beam struggle, which was a big risk since she had the larger ki, but Vegeta was counting on his power's amplification catching her by surprise. Stuka was simply smiling while powering up, as other than cuts and bruises she was not getting worn from the battle like Vegeta. "Any year now Vegeta! Even I'll start to age at this rate!"

"I'd like to see her dodge this! Final Shine!" Vegeta launched his strongest attack into the Tuffle scientist's direction. Stuka decided not to fight power with power, but instead defend herself against it.

"I'll save a lot more of my energy trying to block the attack with the Ost Wall rather than meeting it with my trump card." She thought. Before the Final Shine could hit her, she yelled, "Ost Wall!" It appeared that the Final Shine was pushing itself on an invisible window, trying to shatter through it. Stuka was sweating because her opponent has not let up yet. "He's persistent indeed, I didn't have the same amount of time to prepare my defenses!" Vegeta was using his power to try to break through his opponent's forcefield while Stuka tried desperately to contain the Final Shine, as it appeared that her invisible window was growing smaller.

Meanwhile on the lookout Piccolo's Saiyan opponent had a slight upperhand against him. Piccolo was sweating bullets because he knew he was not only at a disadvantage against a mere Neo-Saiyan Army private, but because there were over two thousand Saiyans waiting for him including by far the largest power he ever sensed, General Cori. He noticed how she was smiling with her arms crossed watching the fight, playing with her dyed wavy red hair with black roots. "I need to bring this fight as close to the gas canister as possible," the intelligent Namekian thought, "I'm not going to win this battle on strength alone." Piccolo's Afterimages were bringing the fight closer and closer to the four Saiyans holding the Fruitgas canister.

One of the Saiyans holding the canister was catching wind of this, he communicated to his General, something he was allowed to do due to the importance of his payload. "General, we have the canister in position, can we release the gas?"

General Cori smiled then commanded to her officers over her scouter as Mr. Popo was watching on, "Put the Namekian in a hold, don't let him be in the position to block or affect the wind currents."

While Piccolo was busy against his Super Saiyan 3 opponent, two other Super Saiyan 3 warriors held him there in the air. The Namekian was unable to move, "Darn!" Piccolo thought, "I'm not even strong enough to fight one of these Saiyans evenly, there's no way I can even budge!" Suddenly, he noticed a pink gas starting to get released, "I have an idea," Piccolo continued to think while struggling and sweating, "I have one more move left to make."

Suddenly Gotenks stopped the Kamehameha to catch his breath. Zerstorer descended down to meet him, laughing, "Trying your best move against me was certainly tiring!" He laughed then continued to explain, "I'm no stranger to the art of combat! You see, I merely brought your level of power comfortably much lower than mine, and its declining rapidly! I suggest you give up, or you'll die!"

"You fool!" Gotenks mustered a yell while catching his breath, "You have no idea who I am!"

"Some fused Saiyan freak, so what?" Zerstorer squinted.

"I am Gotenks. I am the son of Goku, the universe's most legendary fighter. I am the son of Prince Vegeta, the supreme example of the whole Saiyan race! I am the direct descendent of your two worst nightmares! Come to life! If you want to come get this…" Suddenly a violent white aura appeared back around Gotenks, "then come get some!" Both of them continued to fight hand and hand again, with Zerstorer smiling while Gotenks continued his fierce attacks.

Vegeta finally was able to muster another burst of power into his Final Shine, but by the time he managed to overpower the Tuffle's defenses, he was almost completely tired from the attack. Stuka was holding back the final shine with her hands at this point. Roman was looking at his wife, who was at risk of being defeated, thus killed by the Saiyan's attack, he was trembling, "Prince Vegeta, he's certainly amazing. Kiki, please stop that attack! Please!"

Stuka was finally able to meet the Final Shine that was burning her hand's with the ki energy of her own. A large explosion occurred. Pan celebrated early, "One down! And one more to go!"

"Hardly!" Freon trembled, "Not only is that witch Stuka still alive, but I sense what is happening at the lookout. They must already be releasing the gas, and whoever's trying to do something about it has far too little strength too hinder their progress . We lost."

"What do you mean?" Pan yelled at the Arcosian who was not phased by the disrespect, "You see all of that smoke, that means that the wicked Tuffle witch of the west is dead!"

"Excuse me," the Arcosian responded with a modicum of respect, "I can simply fly off into space right now and prevent myself from being turned into one of these Tuffles. But I have the honor to share the same fate as this planet, the same fate as you… And Vegeta."

Vegeta was trembling at the power he still felt, as he was tired from his failed attack. "Twin Cannon!" Stuka yelled as she was launching many glowing orbs from her hands, apparently missing Vegeta on purpose. There was so much smoke and soot lifted in the air he could barely breathe, in effect he was blinded to her.

"What is she planning?" Vegeta thought, "I can't see a single thing!" Vegeta flew straight into the air to try to emerge out of the smoke, instead he fell into her trap, and was elbowed in the head causing him to crash down into the Earth.

"Here's a taste of Saiyan tradition!" Stuka yelled, "Roman learned this move from his Uncle, who taught it to me! You didn't enjoy my Tuffle techniques so this one will make you feel right at home!" Stuka's golden aura was violent and sparking. Vegeta was still struggling to get up due to his pain. Stuka reared both of her arms and hands back over her head, and then flung them into front of her body, "Calamity Blaster!" The large wave of energy was a direct hit from Vegeta, causing an explosion that resembled that of a Hydrogen bomb. In fact, the technique was so powerful that Zerstorer and Gotenks stopped fighting momentarily to keep distance from it. Like turning a page on a phone, Stuka wiped away the smoke and descended down to a bleeding and defeated Vegeta. The Saiyan Prince was barely breathing and was paralyzed.

"Don't kill him," Roman said to himself, "Do not let your Saiyan transformation take control of your soul."

"Vegeta…" Stuka tried to talk to him, "Vegeta!" Blood was pouring out of Vegeta's mouth as he was moments away from dying.

At this point Zerstorer put Gotenks in a headlock, starting to choke him to death. "You thought I would need a fancy technique to defeat you? Being Super Saiyan 5 will not matter much when you run out air!" Gotenks tried to kick, elbow, and fly his way out but his Tuffle opponent was so strong he could not budge or hurt him.

At the Capsule Corporation greenhouse. This was the last straw. Bulla could not control her Saiyan rage once she felt her father and brother dying, her white aura and sparks were now uncontrollable, she transformed into Super Saiyan 5. "I'm sorry daddy," she lamented, "but I will have to break my promise. I swore on my project, but that won't matter anymore." Her rage was so overwhelming that all of the crops she bioengineered went on fire. Now that the project she swore by was no longer in the way, nothing was going to stop her from heading straight towards the fracas.


	10. Chapter X: Gohan Returns

Chapter X: Gohan Returns

Vegeta was unable to speak, he was behaving as if all of his bones were broken. Freon yelled to Pan, "We have to get the last of the Senzu beans from 18."

"Understood!" Pan quickly took to action with Freon.

"Speak to me, Vegeta." Stuka continued. Then she gave Vegeta a little bit of her ki for him to survive a moment longer, the golden wave of energy went from her body to his. "Speak to me, Vegeta."

"Why would you do that?" Vegeta struggled to respond, "What in the world are you planning?"

"I'm not planning to destroy a world I plan on taking over." Said the Tuffle who realized her victory, transforming back from her Super Saiyan 2-like form back to her base form. Her hair went from being golden and stuck in the air with a bang to a tightly curled unkempt mess. Like magic, a hair pick appeared in her hand and she started to fix her hair while speaking with Vegeta.

"So what, why would you let me live?" Vegeta wondered, still spitting out blood.

"If I let you survive, you will become a Tuffle momentarily. However, I want to give you the chance to join us. I can take you to the medical machine and given you enhanced Tuffle-Saiyan DNA. There are things the machine can do that the gas simply can't. You have the abilities to be one of our generals, don't waste this opportunity to join us."

"No way!" Vegeta said, "I'd rather die."

"Is that going to be your final regret?" Stuka smiled. She extended her hand and a small ball of ki started to appear, "What a waste, I should kill you for the brutality your father made me suffer through, how it stole my childhood, how it—"

"No! Don't do it!" Roman yelled.

Vegeta started to cry, "My final regret is that I won't be able to walk my daughter down the aisle." Tears now started to stream faster than blood down Vegeta's face, "I've spent my whole life in a quest for more and more power, whether it was to take Frieza's empire from under him or finally regain my rightful place in the universe as its strongest Saiyan. None of that makes me happy."

Stuka put away her hand, and her eyes were starting to water up, "What are you saying?"

"I wasn't mature yet when I had my son. I could never be the father he deserved, but when I was in the hospital with my daughter for the first time, I was a changed man for good. I vowed to live the remainder of my life solely for her happiness. As a result, I found my happiness protecting her and making her the happiest girl in the world." He continued to try, "To die like this before the happiest day of her life breaks my heart; I'll die of grief before you kill me."

Suddenly Stuka gave Vegeta a lot more of her energy and a pill. Zerstorer grimaced watching this while continuing to choke Gotenks with his headlock, "What? You fool! Why would you do that Kiki! Why are you being so sentimental?"

"The pill will stop your injuries," Stuka said, "that way you don't bleed to death." This implied it was not close to the powers of a senzu bean, but at this point it was good enough. "I want you to live, to hold your daughter's hand as she walks down the aisle. You have changed a lot from the ruthless Saiyans on Planet Plant, you have learned a great sense of humanity. You may walk down the aisle together Tuffles, but your unbreakable bond with remain. I understand the pain I felt when my father was executed as a result of the war, and that only Planet Trade aliens attended my wedding. I had no one to hold my hand as I walked down the aisle."

"I know I'll regret not continuing the fight, especially now that I'm able to," Vegeta admitted then continued uncharacteristically, "but I know that I have lost. I will go far away from here and accept my defeat."

"One of my students is getting married soon; she's very brilliant and dedicated to her studies. She has explained to me in the past that maybe the only person happier than her is her father."  
Stuka then pointed in the opposite direction of the lookout, "So, go a long way from here. It won't take long for us to discourage your friends from fighting."

Vegeta wiped away his tears. He knew that he now betrayed the defense of Earth, but he justified to himself that he was going to be dead anyway. He only chose to live that way he can continue to make his daughter have a happy and safe life. Bulla was more important to him than his Saiyan tendicies.

Freon looked at the overmatched Pan and now the dying Gotenks and tried to speak telepathically to Vegeta, "Vegeta, do you have a plan or did you truly surrender the fight?"

"You too realized I was as good as dead," Vegeta admitted, "I no longer care anymore. I'm afraid that I'll never have the power to be the strongest. I apologize for disappointing you. However, you still have your trump card. Sacrifice the lives of the others, make the Tuffles distracted so you can use it. I'm only cannon fodder at this point anyway."

Freon disagreed but respected Vegeta, after seeing his sensei's defeat he knew now he would have to focus, not increase his power in order to not to set off the scouters before bringing it to his own maximum potential.

At this point, while Piccolo was being held back. He clearly did not have the power to struggle his way out. Piccolo realized that he was effectively neutralized, and he was about out of cards to play. Instead of acting out of desperation, Piccolo started smiling, maybe it would buy him some time.

One of the Saiyans who was holding the Namekian was irked. This only encouraged Piccolo to continue mocking them in effect. Suddenly, all the Saiyans that were surrounding Piccolo were staring at the scene. They thought such a reaction to imminent death was bizarre, since the deathblow seemed to be happening momentarily. "Can you tell me, green man, what's so funny?" Said one of the Saiyans holding Piccolo, in an insulted fashion.

Piccolo's mind was rushing at a million miles an hour, thinking of a way out, or at least his next move. Obviously, it seemed he was in a check mate position. Piccolo looked at the Saiyan who spoke to him and asked, "Is it true that blondes are dumb, or is it that they have more fun?"

The Super Saiyan 3's golden aura flashed violently, "What! You scoundrel! Big words for a dead man! Before you die what would you like to appear on your epitaph?" The Saiyan then looked at Piccolo's halo, and was somewhat confused about the situation.

"I want you to answer one more question for me before I die." Piccolo responded slyly.

"What is that?" The Saiyan wondered while smiling with the side of his mouth.

"What are my odds of winning?" Piccolo smiled.

The Saiyans looked on as the notion was ridiculous. Some reacted shocked and most simply laughed at the situation. General Cori was not entertained, she had a feeling the Namekian was up to something. "Keep talking… Your sense of humor will be gone in moments at the rate you're breathing in the Fruitgas."

"Tell me," Piccolo looked again towards the Saiyan who was engaging conversation with him, "what are my odds of winning?"

"Uhhhh…" Now the Saiyan holding him entertained the question, "Zero! Non-Existant! One out of a trillion! Tough stretch!"

"Tough stretch! Bingo!" Piccolo approved, holding back chuckles,

One of the Saiyans holding him down entertained the statement, "What are you going to do, squirm your way out like a slug?"

"Not quite! Watch this!" Piccolo laughed. Suddenly his wrists extended all the way to the Fruitgas canister and flung it down to the lookout, cracking the canister. The Saiyans were all shocked, and had a sinking feeling in their stomachs.

"Quick!" General Cori yelled without the scouter while trying to run towards the tank, "someone recover the canister, wait, what?"

Suddenly Mr. Popo walked towards where the gas leak was. He smiled to her and greeted her, "Hi…" He then proceeded to breathe in all the gas in the canister until it crumbled up to the size of a tin foil ball. Now General Cori was sweating bullets as she now failed her mission, or so Piccolo thought. "Gas detachment," she spoke through the scouter, "Fill another canister of Fruitgas at the HQ, we will commence this crucial step in Citadel again in five minutes." Piccolo sweated as his victory was clearly temporary. "I may already face execution for this," Cori admitted to her soldiers, "but we will not fail the mission. Kill him."

Four of the Saiyan soldiers who were previously holding the canister flew towards the southern direction when Piccolo noticed the Saiyan he was speaking to power himself up with his golden aura. "Don't worry, I'm not going to speak much. I'll make this nice and quick!" He admitted.

In this fraction of a second, Piccolo was thinking about the fact that he only delayed the inevitable, not stopped it. It would be moments that this overwhelming Saiyan force, in size and in power, would release yet an identical canister of Fruitgas and complete their plan to turn the whole planet into Tuffles.

On Frieza Planet 150, the Protection Squadron was finished looking at the smoke created by their lieutenants' self-destruction. Nach was happy that the incredibly powerful threat he was facing as gone, but it came at a very high cost as he trusted his lieutenants like brother and sister. Naturally, the power vacuum would be inevitably filled. However, Nach was pragmatic; though casualties in this war were unexpected due to their perceived overwhelming advantage in power, it was not something they did not plan for. "After the annihilation of the universe's non-Saiyan population," Nach spoke to the rest of the Protection Squadron, "we will grieve for our fallen lieutenants."

One of his sargeants, Adesh, did not dare bring up Nach's children by name, due to the shame they now brought their father. She was tall and slender, though her Super Saiyan 4 transformation mostly hid her appearance. She inferred reverence to Galbans and Pea, "we will grieve for all of our fallen soldiers." Nach nodded, as this was maybe the most polite way of continuing to show respect to his offspring.

"Well," Nach started to say somewhat monotonously, and somewhat sarcastically, "that was fun. Let's destroy this rock and be over it. There's a large universe out there waiting for us." Nach made a ball of ki until his scouter gave him a shockingly high reading. Other Saiyans in the protection squadron were shocked with fear.

"Colonel," Adesh said trembling, "there's a massive power level increasing… 500… 510… 520…"

A stumbling Nach looked at the sky where he saw the ashes become a pink gas. The pink gas congealed into very small drops of goo, and shortly after this all of the goo stuck together on itself in the shape of Majuub. Suddenly, the pink body turned back into a clothed Majuub. This scared the wits out of all the Saiyan opponents. "What's that? No way!" Nach expressed astonishment, "but… but… you were killed, no human's capable of doing that!" Majuub smiled cockily. He looked at Nach, trembling in fear temporarily. In fact, Majuub was surprised a little that his so called tough Saiyan opponent did not bother keeping his composure. "Now, you only have a taste of what you're up against! I may be a human from Earth, but I'm also a magical Majin being!"

"What in the gravy is that!" An angry Nach lashed back.

"Millions of years in the past, an evil Wizard name Bibidi, unleashed the purest form of evil: the magical Majin Buu. He tried to harness the evil demon's power to destroy the universe, that way he can seal the demon and take control of existence for himself. Now, Buu came back right on Earth not so long ago—"

"No way! If that happened I would remember it!" Nach was skeptical.

"Let me explain, Saiyan… You see, it was my teacher, Son Goku himself who brought an end to the magical demon by harnessing Earth's positive energy, and finishing off the opponent with the almost limitless power of the Spirit Bomb."

"If the magial being is dead…" Adesh questioned her opponent, "then who are you?"

"During the battle," Majuub continued to explain, "Buu expelled the good out of him to increase his power. This took the form of a well-natured soul, that of Mr. Buu. When the evil half died, Goku wished for the power to return as a source of good. That's where I come in…"

"I've heard a lot of crazy things in my life," Nach's trembling became pure disbelief, "and I lived a very long life so far. This is one of the craziest things I've ever heard."

"You see, that power was reincarnated into me. I had little idea of what I was capable of until Son Goku devoted the remainder of his life into training me. My power was surpassed by only Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo. When the Tuffle King took control of the Earth, as the evil form Baby, both halves of the Buu if you will finally combined their powers into me!" Suddenly a violent pink aura appeared around Majuub, "I am Majuub! Welcome to your nightmare!"

The reading on Nach's scouter was increasing yet again, "Tell me this! If you were so powerful, how come it was your master who finally put an end to the Tuffle King?"

Majuub laughed, "You are still so naïve! Do you remember how powerful you were when you were a teenager?"

"I'll admit," Nach laughed, "I was absolutely pathetic. I didn't even dream of being a fraction as powerful as even Frieza."

Majuub now glared angrily, "The full extent of my power. The fruits of my training. I didn't realize the potential that my master Goku was talking about until recently. I wasn't only born to keep the Earth safe, I was born to protect the entire universe! I can make short work of all of you Saiyans, but I am merciful. Change your ways, stop this violence, and I'll let each of you live. Give yourselves the chance to change your hearts."

"Never!" Nach screamed angrily!

"Unless you have made some major gains recently," Adesh brazebly reminded her commander, "You are at a disadvantage."

"I appreciate your fearless response. I'll make you lieutenant for that, but this simple Earthling doesn't understand that I have yet another level of power unwitnessed!" The Saiyan started powering up to his peak potential in his body, the white aura remained as his muscles an veins bulged slightly.

"Both of you…" Adesh read on her scouter, "Your battle powers are at 536! Simply astonishing."

Majuub smiled at the challenge, as his opponent was equally as strong as him. Nach, naturally as a Saiyan, was anticipating the challenge even more than Majuub. "You may have some tricks up your sleeve…" Nach spoke confidently, "but this will come down to who his truly the best fighter, not who has a higher ki. I have achieved the greatest accolades of Saiyan training, you'll see my techniques are unparalleled."

Majuub looked at him, "I see, you did not achieve the Super Saiyan transformation yet you have become this powerful. Simply amazing!"

"Few Saiyans are capable of seeing beyond their transformations. You can say I achieved mystic, or my ultimate power!" Nach wagged his tail as the rest of the Protection Squadron looked on. "It looks like the two most powerful warriors in the universe are right here, right now, ready to collide."

"Enough talk," Majuub smiled and clenched his fists, "Let's get to it!"

"Pan…" Freon spoke as he looked over and still saw dozens of Saiyans and the Tuffles watching their every move. "This is the part of the battle we are going to have to make tough decisions. I'm little help unless I can focus my power, before I increase my ki." He took a pause to see if Pan was understanding him, "I'm going to need about a minute. You're going to need to somehow get Gotenks out of that hold, he's our best chance at delaying those Tuffles. If the Saiyans join in, our odds drop considerably."

"What do you have planned…" Pan wondered, she would have to know since her death was likely.

"I am the only one left with a technique capable of defeating them. Your powers, and even Gotenks' remaining power is too low to actually finish them off. However, since I cannot fight them on equal terms I need to get in a good, what do you say… sucker punch?"

"So, you have a lethal technique but it will only work if you catch them by surprise." Pan smiled and caught on.

"Exactly!" Freon smiled, then turned around to look like he was there to prevent the Saiyans from engaging Pan. "Good luck."

Pan had a serious look on her face as her Super Saiyan 2 aura glowed once again with its bioelectricity. She lunged to where Zerstorer was until Stuka, who was in her base form, appeared right in front of her. "My brother is busy taking care of Gotenks' consciousness. The moment the ability to fight leaves him, he'll have time to see you. Until then, wait your turn!" She elbowed Pan into the ground. Pan counterattacked furiously but she did not have the power to equal the Tuffle. "So foolish, you're less than half as strong as Vegeta and you're taking your chances with me? That's crazy!"

"You're just a big tall witch doctor!" Pan yelled while her bioelectricity was crackling, "Whatever voodoo you do won't work on me!"

"I take offense to that on multiple levels!" Stuka complained while blushing, "I'm a credible scientist; my methods were peer reviewed!"

"You forget! I'm the daughter of Son Gohan, do not underestimate my potential!"

"If my scouter's correct, you do not have much more left in your tank even if you show me your most powerful attack!" Stuka countered. The both of them exchanged punches and kicks, with Stuka simply evading Pan's most furious attacks.

At this point, Gotenks powered down into Super Saiyan 3. Zerstorer smiled as his opponent's power continued to decline rapidly, "It's taking much faster than I thought." He laughed, "You know, I could crush your skull like a grape right now but my sister's nagging's well beyond even her battle power." He then leaned over and looked at Gotenks in the eyes, who struggled to look back, "Also, seeing your pain is much more fun."

Pan was running out of breath as her opponent shown no signs of tiring. She raised both her arms above her head, "Masenko, ho!" Stuka flung away the ki beam causing a huge explosion in the distance.

"You should be careful," Stuka responded, "you could have killed someone with that, this Earth will definitely be less beautiful once you're done with it." She fixed up her hair a little and smiled, "I know you didn't show me your best, but that was about it."

At this point, Gotenks powered back down to his base form and his eyes closed. His death was going to occur in seconds. Freon was sweating bullets, he could not even hide this from his potential Saiyan opponents. "I do not have enough time! I cannot defeat them yet, we have lost!"

At this point a blinding white flash of light was appearing. Zerstorer looked at the dying Gotenks and spoke to himself, "I know my sister commanded me not to kill anyone, but I'm in the mood for a little verbal disagreement. You should feel honored, you're powerful enough to be worth killing." Before he could finally squeeze through Gotenks' skull like an eggshell he was kicked in the head and surprised. The Tuffle crashed through a mountain when the mysterious warrior yelled, "Super Gallic Gun… Fire!"

As the mountain and the surrounding area exploded furiously, Gotenks split into Goten's and Trunks' unconscious bodies. Stuka and Pan wondered who it was. "That lying scoundrel!" Stuka yelled without utilizing her scouter, "I can sense that energy is obviously Vegeta's!" Stuka transformed into her Super Saiyan 2 form, "I'll kill him for that! He was lying about his daughter!"

Stuka flew over to where the opponent was and was utterly stunned. She looked like her student Bulla, but not quite. She was transformed into Super Saiyan 5. Stuka trembled, not from the power, but from the surprise of it all. In fact she was embarrassed a little, now that her student will undoubtebly know her true identity. "Bulla… What… You're a Saiyan, this entire time?"

"Dr. Phillips…" Bulla said equally stunned, before turning back into her base form, "I can't believe that's you." Stuka reciprocated and powered down to her base form, which caused her hair to be unkempt once again, causing the Tuffle to instinctually fix it.

"That witch!" Zerstorer told himself angrily as he was emerging from the smoke, wiping the blood from his face, "Why doesn't Kiki just kill that person right now!"

"I'm so sorry." Stuka said in a moment of humanity, because she disappointed someone who admired her for her scientific accolades as an Earthling. "I'll tell you the entire truth Bulla. My true name is Stuka, a Tuffle name. I came from Planet Plant before the Saiyan race annihilated our population. I survived by working for a galactic overlord, Frieza. As soon as I was able to coax myself from his clutches, I made my home here. Many of the technologies that were researched on Planet Plant I redeveloped for consumption here on Earth. I came here to improve everybody's lives."

"I have a hard time believing you came here to save the Earth," Bulla responded authoritatively, being far too intelligent to buy into Tuffle virtues, "then tell me the entire truth. Why are you here?"

"As we speak," Stuka admitted emotionally, "I have deployed an invention I call the Fruitgas. The mist will spread throughout the Earth and momentarily, every organism that respires will have a modified Tuffle DNA code. In effect, it will revive my fallen race."

"No one dies, no one gets hurt?" Bulla questioned.

"Exactly." Stuka smiled as she felt the Saiyan understood her.

"Then how come my brother almost died?" Bulla saw through the Tuffle's smokescreen, "How come my father Vegeta was brought to the brink of death? How come my friends lay there on the ground unconscious, maybe dead?"

"Vegeta…" Stuka trembled, "Vegeta's your father? Prince Vegeta?"

"Yes, yes he is. The Prince of all Saiyans, the Warrior Elite, the last pure survivor of an extinct race, the son of the great King Vegeta!" Bulla was confident in her bloodline's regal status.

"I see Vegeta is more like his father than I previously thought." Stuka said with vitriol, "King Vegeta brought great misery in my life, to the point I almost took it myself."

"When I was a little girl, and my father put me to bed, he would tell me the great stories and legends of the Saiyan race. Especially about the greatness of King Vegeta, who freed the Saiyans from slavery and brought a punishment to the Tuffle race that had it coming to them." Bulla responded with contempt for the Tuffles.

"I understand how you feel, since you were not alive to see it." Stuka responded, then questioned, "Do you remember what your life was like as a teenager?"

"You already know that my father gave me whatever I always wanted. The only problems I had were with boys." Bulla answered honestly.

"I spent what should have been the best years of my life in a concentration camp. I had to lead the construction of highly advanced equipment previously known to Saiyans before your grandfather outlawed educating a majority of his own people. Imagine that your survival hinged on how much you were desired by your Saiyan masters, whether it be your expertise or your body." A tear rolled down Stuka's face, "I'll be honest. When Frieza retaliated and killed a majority of the Saiyan race, I was extremely happy. I feel guilty sometimes, almost complicit, but you wouldn't understand unless you were a starving and miserable teenager like myself."

"This sentimentality is the best thing to ever happen to me," Freon smiled thinking to myself, "I'm about ready to increase my power quickly!"

"The Tuffle King was no better than King Vegeta, I can really care less about the Tuffle race's second chance at life." Zerstorer admitted still in his Super Saiyan 2 form, "I don't care about what my sister came up with as long as one way or another I control this universe. The day the king forced me to kill my mother…"

"King Vegeta?" Bulla trembled, "my grandfather?"

"No, my own king. My own kind." He looked over at his Tuffle crest on the left side of his chest on his armor. Zerstorer came to the epiphany that maybe he and his sister were uncritically emulating the Tuffle regime they had abhored. "Once I was forced to kill my mother, I learned how little lives mattered. They could be bought or sold or eliminated at a whim. When I saw how Frieza operated his empire, I vowed to myself one day I would be just like him. One way or another." Zerstorer looked over at his disgusted sister and a shocked Bulla, "One way or another… I'm going to control the universe and every living thing in it."

"You'll have to get through me first!" Bulla transformed back into Super Saiyan 5.

"Your power is at an impressive 275…" He said while looking at his scouter, "you could maybe survive for fifteen seconds against me!"

"Freon!" Pan spoke to him telepathically, temporarily distracting the grimacing Arcosian from focusing his powers, "If I am able to teach the fusion dance to Bulla, maybe we stand a chance against the Tuffles."

"Don't be foolish!" Freon responded hurriedly, "Unless you have been hiding a Super Saiyan 5 transformation, both of you fusing as Super Saiyan 2's would not be close enough in issuing a challenge to any of those Tuffles."

"Sorry, Freon." Pan admitted. "Great idea Giru." Pan looked over angrily at the robot who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Giru! Giru!" Pan then slapped Giru away into the distance as Bulla took the first strike at Zerstorer, who was having much more difficultly than her than planned.

"If you're so slow…" Zerstorer yelled in frustration against her, "why can't I lay a single hit on you?"

After scratching Zerstorer in the face, making him wince in pain, Bulla did not delay in trying futilely to defeat the Tuffle. "Gallic Gun… Fire!" She pushed the Tuffle into the ground with her energy wave with a large explosion. "Gallic Gun… Fire!" She repeated while the Tuffle was still down. "Gallic Gun… Fire!"

Vegeta in the distance was sweating, "Bulla! Your energy! It's depleting rapidly!" The prince was about to cry, "Why are you there when I can't protect you, I have no choice." Vegeta flew back to where the battle was despite the fact he only had enough energy to continue to live.

"Gallic Gun… Fire!" Bulla continued, somehow drawing more power deep from her well.

Stuka looked through her scouter, "Unbelievable, I can't see how Zero is taking this much damage!"

"Gallic Gun… Fire!" Bulla was sweating and her muscles were sore, she found the strength to continue as if the last of Earth's hope was hinging on her. "Gallic Gun… Fire!"

"Stop!" Said Pan to grabbed Bulla by the shoulder distracting her, this caused Bulla's energy level to plummet back into her base form, "I think he's dead already. Look at all the smoke."

Bulla was incredibly frustrated at the stupidity, "Of course he's not dead! How come everyone on this planet is so stupid!"

"Almost there…" Freon smiled, looking in the distance, suddenly Roman descended down right in front of him.

"I do not know what you have planned Arcosian, but if there's something you have to do, do it right here, right now!" Roman looked at Freon, who was made dumb out of fear. Roman utilized his scouter, "I see that I can't even get a reading on you, but even at your best you're almost 200. That's the power of legends in this universe, but even I exceeded that by a far margin." Freon trembled, "What, you have nothing to say?"

"Let me show you my full power," Freon tried to make his Saiyan opponent fall for a ruse, "it will be far more than your scouter will say. Plenty in the Planet Trade were tricked in the past."

"While my brother Nach is an accomplished warrior," Roman admitted, "he's also a science geek. He developed the projections of the amount of power a warrior hides and potentially amplifies. The readings are stunningly accurate. I'll show you that maybe only his intelligence exceeds his power."

"That sounds nice," Freon continued to bide time, "what was your special talent?"

"Marrying up I guess!" Roman laughed with his eyes closed and his hand behind his head while Freon fell over with his feet in the air.

Zerstorer's armor was broken and his body was bleeding all over. His body language was trembling with anger, he looked towards his weak opponent and yelled, "There's no way someone as weak as her almost killed someone as powerful as I!" He then clenched his scouter in his hand and crushed it into pieces. "Curse you! For mortifying me as much as you did, I will show you how painful your death will be!"

"Don't do it Zero!" Stuka said to her brother, hoping to dissuade him.

"Kiki, you don't get it. The time for virtuous posturing is over when the success of Citadel is at hand, our potential opponents to peace in my universe should be eliminated!" He used his Afterimage and appeared behind Pan, starting to pull her head out of her spine. "You see, Saiyan." He hissed to Bulla, "I could kill her, and you instantly, but I want you to see how it's going to feel before you experience it yourself!"

Stuka was paralyzed by her brother's evil, but she would not sacrifice Citadel's success for anything. Bulla just looked on as the woman she admired was morally bankrupt. She felt helpless to do anything as she was now unable to transform back into her Super Saiyan 5 form as she was catching her breath.

Gohan, who was finishing eating a meal, inexplicably felt something while in the other dimension. "Pan, I know that's her." Gohan thought quickly as suddenly his nightmare world vanished around him, "all I know is that she's in trouble, I can feel it from my soul."

The door to the Room of Spirit and Time exploded, and suddenly every scouter around the world had the same reading. "250!" One of General Cori's colonels yelled at the scene. She looked at Gohan face to face. Gohan looked up at the pretty Saiyan who was much taller than him, while she looked down at her determined opponent. Both of their glares were as serious as could be, they knew this meant business.

"Gohan, Kakarot's son," General Cori spoke to him viciously, "I'm General Cori. The leader of the Neo Saiyan army. What you see here is that you're quite possibly the last warrior standing."

Gohan was appreciative that they could skip the introductions and the posturing, he saw Piccolo with his halo in the distance, about to be killed, and he sensed his dying daughter and a true lack of viable opponents against three tremendous power levels in the distance. Though the one in front of him was as about as tremendous as the one killing his daughter.

"I'm going to tell you exactly what I'm going to do. First, I'm going to kill your whole Saiyan army. Second, I'm going to kill you. Third, I'm going to kill who's commanding you." Gohan then extended his ultimatum, "Choose not to fight, choose to make peace, and all of you live, I don't have time to negotiate."

General Cori's scouter suddenly gave her a reading that made her face, and seemingly her red hair turn blue. "I know my scouter's not malfunctioning, but the difference between most Saiyans and I, is that I don't feel fear! You will not dissuade us from executing Citadel!"

"Very well then, death it is." Gohan spoke seriously, "Is there anything else I can assist you with?"


	11. Chapter XI: Bagration

Chapter XI: Bagration

Piccolo was appreciative as Gohan's appearance on the scene was the only thing that saved his life. They knew they could catch up later, the only thing on Piccolo's mind was getting the visibly worn Gohan a senzu bean at the first available opportunity.

Gohan started powering up in his Super Saiyan 2 form, his muscles bulged like that of an Ultra Super Saiyan. Somehow, he enabled his muscles to engorge themselves twice as large as that. General Cori started laughing at Gohan's face, which was now at her height due to his increased girth.

"You fool!" She continued to laugh in his face, "Your impossibly high power reading is due to your misguided transformation. You see, you'll be unable to land a single hit on any of us with your decreased speed, your power's also exhausting rapidly at this rate. As long as I'm not stupid enough to try to tank one of your hits I'll be victorious momentarily!"

Gohan did not listen to a single word she said as he started shooting generic-looking ki blasts furiously all around him at the opposing Saiyans, because he was so slow, even the Saiyans in their base forms evaded with little effort. Even Piccolo evaded with little effort. He was smiling at Gohan like a proud father. One of the Saiyans with a pink jumpsuit under his armor looked at Piccolo and asked him, "What are you smiling at?"

"You're shirt!" Piccolo jested as the Saiyan blushed.

After the furious volley of attacks landed exactly no hits, General Cori laughed hysterically at a tired Gohan, who was struggling to maintain his immense bulk. "So, that's it? That's the extant of the techniques of Kakarot's son? There's a reason why you showed up as a footnote in our intelligence after your defeat of Cell. It's because your fighting skills are like that of a novice, completely pathetic!"

Gohan made it appear as if his power dropped, his muscles returned to their normal size and his Super Saiyan 2 bio-electricity remained. Piccolo smiled lustily in the distance and General Cori responded with a gleam towards Gohan. Gohan yelled, collapsing his open hand into a fist, "Hellzone Grenade!"

Suddenly all the discarded balls of energy rushed back towards the lookout and the Saiyans surrounding it. Within the second, the sky was raining dead Saiyan bodies. Only the Saiyans transformed into Super Saiyan 3 and General Cori survived. Gohan quickly fought all three of the Super Saiyan 3 soldiers, who had little time to react at the knockout blow Gohan inflicted on the Neo-Saiyan army. Gohan killed two of the soldiers instantly with each of his hands, shooting a wave of ki from each hand on each side of his body, vaporizing both of them. At this point Piccolo made a rush towards Korin's tower. The final Super Saiyan 3 offered little more of a fight, "Come here half-breed!"

"Masenko, ho!" Gohan yelled making his opponent explode before descending back down to General Cori who was red-faced in astonishment. "You've succeeded in ensuring my execution half-breed!" She spat viciously while reading her scouter, "There's one major issue for you. You're tired! Your potential maximum output has now dropped below 480. You are indeed stronger than me, but not right now. Is there anything you want to tell me before you die?"  
"Unlike whoever you're taking orders from," Gohan was rushing, knowing the danger his daughter was in, "I'll give you the chance to live. I suggest you take it."

"No way! Plasma Ray!" She yelled about to unleash her firery trump card before Piccolo came in the nick of time with a senzu bean, Gohan opened his mouth and swallowed it in the instant before he could take on the blast. With new energy now surging in him, he appeared behind General Cori with the Afterimage and broke her neck before kicking her down from the lookout. Without another moment to spare he flew towards Pan.

As General Cori was falling, still living yet paralyzed, she lamented, "My life's work, I've failed! I'm no longer deserving of my life and my heritage!"

Stuka started sweating bullets as her scouter gave her an astonishing reading. Zerstorer dropped an unconscious Pan to the ground, "My butterfingers." He complained, "I feel that energy coming, I almost killed her, but why am I trembling so much…"

Both of their shaking was noticeable to even Roman, who did not show fear to Freon. "You feel that?" Freon spoke to Roman, "That must be Gohan, he's far more powerful than what you have prepared for."

"That's true," Roman responded, "but I've learned not to be scared even when overmatched. Fear just holds you back; if I'm going to die, I'm not going to die being afraid."

"I can feel your heart's intentions," Freon reasoned with him, "You should not be out here, doing this."

"Why's that?" Roman wondered innocently to Freon.

"I do not sense evil in your heart, your sense of good is misguided." Freon tried to encourage him to switch sides.

"I always question whether or not I'm doing the right thing," Roman looked back. "I've determined whatever plans Stuka has for the universe, are more beneficial than the status quo. That's why I have worked so dutifully for my fellow Saiyans and my Tuffle masters."

"I disagree with you, Roman, but I respect you." Freon admired.

"It seems like you are ready to prove my scouter wrong, if you can!" Roman reminded him.

"Sure, let us see it." Freon started powering up with a red aura.

"Kiki…" Zerstorer trembled to his sister, "what does the scouter say about his power level?'

Stuka in pure frustration ripped off her scouter and crushed it in her hand and screamed, "It's over 600!"

"What! 600? That thing's a piece of junk!" Zerstorer sweat beads.

"The scouter's not lying man! We're outmatched, unless we work together. This is an opponent we have to take completely seriously." Stuka trembled, not thinking about much at this point but her survival.

Gohan floated over to them, with his Super Saiyan 2 transformation and a furious look on his face. He saw his daughter laying on the ground along with the other fallen Z Fighters, but sensed that all of them were alive. He looked around to see that Vegeta was nowhere to be seen, yet there was this strange Arcosian that reminded him of Cooler with horns. He also inexplicably saw Bulla, panting with an unconvincing fighting stance. It was like he woke up in one of his nightmares he felt were taking decades. "I'm Son Gohan." He introduced himself because his back was not against the wall, "and I'm your worst nightmare." The Tuffles simply trembled and the Saiyan recruits looked at their fellow Saiyan in admiration. "Talk to me, or do you wish to be silenced as fast as General Cori!"

"What!" Zerstorer was galvanized, "No way some Earthling could dispatch someone as powerful as her!"

"Take one of your men's stupid scouters, see for yourself." Gohan looked back him angrily. Zerstorer gestured to the Saiyans to give him a scouter. Lieutenant Nion floated over and tossed his scouter to the Field Marshal. "Turn it on, you'll like what you see." Gohan taunted.

"What, this must be broken, there's no power levels at the lookout, in fact there are only five soldiers left alive…"

"They weren't that hard to kill. Your soldiers were cocky, they didn't bother even transforming when I killed all of them at the same time."

"What, that's impossible! My plan was foolproof, how?"

"I feigned an Ultra Super Saiyan transformation, they thought my astonishing powers were a result of smoke and mirrors." Gohan looked back at him, "and I didn't even let them witness my full power… I saved that for you!"

Zerstorer was sweating and his hands were palmy to the point the scouter he handed over to his sister almost slipped out of his hand. Stuka took a reading of Gohan himself once again, "It says you are at 550, on par with me, not over 600. I don't understand where the projected potential power is coming from."

"Witness, a power of a Saiyan who no longer holds himself back; who is afraid of no one. And worst of all, the vengeance of a protective and merciless father!" Gohan instantly transformed into his base. His white aura appeared around him. "Do you like what you see?"

Stuka could not laugh, "There's the rest of your power; it's tremendous."

Bulla looked over at her professor who was trembling. "Give up the fight, Son Gohan will give you mercy, he'll let you live."

"Don't speak for me," Gohan snapped back, "after what you two did to my daughter you have no idea what I'm capable of. I won't just kill both of you, I'm going to make it hurt. You're going to beg for forgiveness until the moment you no longer have the strength to breathe anymore."

"Let me explain to you what you're dealing with," Stuka spat back at Gohan, "you're dealing with the universe's two strongest warriors. Our Saiyan and Tuffle genetic enhancements have brought our increasing potential power outside of your imagination. We've trained since the days of Frieza's reign, our fighting skills are unparalled. You may have stopped the Earth from transforming into Tuffles at this moment, but the rest of the universe is being mated with Tuffle DNA as we speak. Consider yourself the last of a dying breed."

"Easy… It won't be difficult. My friend Mr. Piccolo cheats the rules of life and death. Undoubtedly he'll have a fallen Namekian, maybe even himself create a new set of dragon balls to reverse whatever damage you've done to the universe.

Both Stuka and Zerstorer were puzzled, they never heard of such a thing. "The dragon's balls do what now?" Zerstorer questioned.

Gohan, realizing they had no knowledge of the dragon balls kept quiet, and let Stuka continue. "I don't know what strange behaviors you enjoy, but realize that while our victory against you won't be easy, you are outnumbered and we know all of your techniques. We studied the Earth even before your father Kakarot was born. There was no use of taking control of it while Frieza was still alive, but when he died, somehow your father's power grew even more rapidly than ours. Since then, we waited for the proper timing to initiate Operation Citadel. While our victory will hardly be unopposed as planned, I still believe it is all but ensured."

"Talk is cheap! Show me everything you have and don't hold back!" Gohan challenged.

Stuka's and Zerstorer's Super Saiyan auras again appeared as they began to power up to their maximum strength. Freon, who was powering up himself looked over at the spectacle, he could not believe the powers he was witnessing, "Gohan! He is crazy, why would he want to let them reach their maximum power?"

"There's something about being a Saiyan," Roman educated Freon, "we're less pragmatic and more willing to push our boundaries. Gohan thinks he will demoralize my masters; he feels it is only possible to accomplish this at the height of their power. The mistake he is making is that their ki combined will exceed the output of 600. Since you're stuck here with me, Gohan is going to learn this lesson the hard way."

While Bulla was simply trembling at the scene, Vegeta felt the increase in the Tuffles' power levels. "What are you thinking Gohan!" Vegeta was yelling in his own head, "their powers, they're insane! Insane like you for not finishing them off!" Vegeta tried to step on it however his weak body cramped up and his aura disappeared and his flight suddenly stopped. "If I had a senzu bean I could revive this weak body." Vegeta tried to negotiate with his body for more strength, he did not like the feeling of helplessness in the bottom of his stomach that his daughter was there at the scene where Earth's fate was being determined. Vegeta grabbed on the right side of his stomach and could barely continue his flight. He continued to descend closer and closer to the ocean water until he suddenly felt more minor power levels. He saw Saiyans in the distance, of course not as strong as himself but at this point would make short work of Vegeta. He could only imagine what they were thinking, as he saw them descend into the water. Vegeta himself went underwater and started swimming. Eventually he noticed that they entered an entrance to what must have been a large underground base. "Whatever they're doing in there, it's not good." Vegeta started trying to sense powers that could be at the lookout. Somehow they were all but gone. He started thinking about the fact he sensed Gohan's power where the Tuffles were situated. Since Vegeta did not feel like a Tuffle yet, he assumed that Gohan must have dispatched the Neo-Saiyan army threat, and that these Saiyans were sneaking for more Fruitgas. Vegeta trembled as he knew he did not have the strength to fight one of these Saiyans one on one, stop the new batch of gas, and save his daughter against the Tuffles.

On Frieza Planet 150 Nach looked across into the eyes of Majuub. Not even taking his numerical advantage into consideration, as a Saiyan, Nach was looking forward to combat with an opponent he was evenly matched with. Both were finished powering up, and as expected both of them made the first move at the same time. From the view of space, you could see both powers colliding in different parts of the planet like flashing lights. Majuub shot a pink ki wave from his finger that Nach knocked away. Nach reciprocated with a small white ball of ki which he evaded simply by creating a large hole in his abdomen, letting the ball go through, then letting his body turn back to normal. They continued to exchange punches and kicks, causing both of them to take on noticeable damage. "Your techniques are honed well," Nach complimented his impressed opponent, "but Kakarot taught you to fight like an Earthling. Your techniques feel hardly Saiyan."

"Saiyan is overrated." Majuub spat back, "Goku lived his whole life on Earth. Fought like an Earthling and surpassed the power of all of his opponents. That's why he taught me to fight this way."

"Do you forget that I killed Kakarot myself?" Nach smiled, "you're lucky you have some of those magic techniques too. I'd like you to show me some more. I'll show you some Saiyan techniques you were missing out on!"

"This adversary, he's so powerful!" Majuub thought, "This human body of mine, helps me make more intelligent decisions in combat but I can't revitalize my ki at the same speed as a pure Majin. If this get's out of hand, he's dessert!"

"Kill Driver!" Nach screamed as he extended a ring out of his hands and launched it at his opponent. Majuub shrunk his body to go through the ring and landed a punch on Nach's chest, cracking his armor. Nach swatted him away then pinned him down with a volley of ki blasts. Majuub was eventually able to get up and start blocking the blasts. "Interesting…" Nach thought, "I see my theory on instant transmission was correct. I see that Kakarot's protégé doesn't have this ability."

After taking damage, Majuub flew through the volley of ki blasts and landed a right hook on Nach's cheek, knocking him out of the air and into the ground. Majuub caught his breath and regenerated from the visible injuries. When Majuub tried to counterattack he noticed that Nach anticipated all of his moves. Majuub was not only wasting energy, eventually tiring, but Nach was able to keep going. It was like he had more gas in the tank. Suddenly Majuub decided to show off some magic to him by extending his finger and starting to shoot small pink ki waves at him. "You're too afraid to take the hits?" Majuub chided him.

"Why would I want to tank your blasts on purpose?" Nach responded like his opponent was an idiot.

""The chocolate beam, it's too slow…" Majuub thought.

"You're training is far inferior to mine," Nach said, "you're wasting your time." Nach then punched Majuub in the face and charged up a strong attack by extending both of his arms in front of his chest, "Genocide Gun, fire!" The attack was a direct hit on Majuub. Who emerged from the smoke bleeding, but quickly healed his wounds. "My scouter may be useless against you, but I can tell you're getting tired!"

"How dare you try to show me your best technique without witnessing the Kamehameha!" Majuub smiled, "It is not only the Earth's, but the whole universe's most renowned technique!"

"You fool!" Nach laughed as a white aura appeared around him, "this wouldn't be the first time I neutralized a mere Kamehameha! If you want your best against my best so be it, you will soon tire and be defeated!"

Majuub smiled, "Ka… Me…" He reared his arms back for the iconic Kamehameha, however the ki he was charging was pink.

"Genocide Gun…" Nach extended his hands out again, knowing that once his blast takes out Majuub it would take the planet from under him.

"Ha… Me…" Majuub sweated, "Ha!"

"Fire!" The beam struggle that ensued was vicious, causing the surface of the ground to crack despite Majuub standing on the ground and Nach floating in the air.

Fridge and his subjects looked up at the sky, now as black as ink, as the planet's only source of light was the flashing of the two furious waves of ki. "Men, commence evacuations. Take my mothership, get as many on board as possible and take them to Planet 125."

"But sire…" One of Fridge's men protested, "how about yourself? How will we save you?"

"Do not think I am being too virtuous," Fridge admitted, "I can live unaffected in the vacuum of space. Save as many of my people as you can!"

Back on Earth the Tuffles completed powering up against Gohan. Gohan smiled and chuckled, "Is that all you got?"

Zerstorer and Stuka laughed. Since Stuka was faster than her brother, she appeared behind Gohan and both of them decided to not attempt using punches and kicks, and instead to launch a fury of minor ki's at Gohan in both directions. Creating a lot of smoke. The smoke expanded to the point that even the Tuffles were not visible. Gohan laughed as he was tanking the blasts. However, Roman was laughing at the scene from below, "Arcosian, watch this!"

Gohan emerged from the smoke punching Stuka in the stomach, causing her to spit out blood and scream in pain, but it was at this point that Zerstorer put Gohan in a full-nelson hold. Gohan could not move immediately but he started trying to break himself out from Zerstorer's hold. Stuka appeared in front of Gohan at point blank range and started charging ki from her hands, with her fingers looking like guns. "You wouldn't dare hurt your brother too!" Gohan taunted

"Unnecessary!" Stuka shot to waves of ki from her fingers straight into Gohan's eyes. As Gohan screamed from pain he broke out of Zerstorer's hold and covered his bleeding face. Stuka laughed as she watched Gohan scream in pain, "Two heads are better than one!"

"Bulla," Freon spoke telepathically to her, "get Gohan a senzu bean now. He's blind, he will have to fight on ki-sense alone until then."

"Right." Bulla said as she descended and started to look through the unconscious Z-Fighters' bodies for the rest of the senzu beans.

Roman appeared in front of Bulla and knocked her down, "Oh, no you don't!"

"You fools!" Gohan yelled, congealing the wounds where his eyes were, "Just because I can't see you, it doesn't mean I don't know exactly where you are!" Stuka and Zerstorer laughed, as Zerstorer powered down to his base form. Gohan started fighting, with a marked advantage against a quick Stuka, bruising and cutting her from his punches and kicks. However, Zerstorer would power up and power down from the Super Saiyan 2 form as he continued to score direct hit after direct hit on Gohan with his ki-blasts. "This is not good, I can only 'see' my opponents when I sense their power. That other Tuffle is able to increase and decrease his power at-will. If there was only someone else here to help me attack him while his power is down!"

Freon had a difficult decision to make. Should he step in even though he has not reached the power necessary to utilize his technique, or should he continue to let Gohan hold the Tuffles at bay? Gohan's greater power level did enable him to make mistakes. "It's just a little bit more," Freon said now that the Saiyan was watching over Bulla, "just continue to hang on Gohan. I really hope this works."

Vegeta knew he did not have enough power to fight the Saiyans, but that he had more than enough power to destroy the Tuffles' base. Vegeta floated out of the water and launched a Big Bang Attack. After the explosion occurred, a massive whirlpool was created from the now absent mass below. Everything around the water was being sucked in from the powerful whirlpool, it was hardly enough to stop the Saiyans from emerging angrily from beneath it. Vegeta knew he would be dead in moments, as he had only enough strength to live; using that very strength to destroy the Tuffle base and Fruitgas inside.

"Silly fool," one of the angry Saiyans said, while breaking his ponytail transforming into Super Saiyan 3. "Do you understand that Citadel can only be delayed and not canceled? We'll build a new laboratory. Master Stuka has acquired great riches here on Earth."

A female Super Saiyan 3 laughed, "Just think, in the last moments of your life your whole sacrifice was in vain."

"Well, if it wasn't that big of a nuisance you can let me off with a warning." Vegeta jested with a sly smile.

"Your power level is amazing, but you have no chance of reaching it in your condition." She observed with her scouter. At that moment Piccolo arrived with his training clothing back on and put his hand on Vegeta's shoulder. "Look, it's the Namekian again. That outfit's so mine once I pull it off the body."

"No fair!" Another Saiyan protested.

"Don't fear," Piccolo responded while continuing to leave his hand on Vegeta's shoulder. I can make more with simply my mind, observe!" Piccolo launched his Clothes Beam at the Saiyan, who planned on tanking the ki beam. Instead, the explosion occurred and when the smoke cleared shortly afterwards, the Saiyan was wearing a turban, cape, and shoulder pads.

"Wow! This outfit's hot!" He bragged with his yellow Piccolo getup.

The female Saiyan teared up in a silly fashion, "I'll let you live if you make me one too!" After another beam and explosion occurred, she received a grey outfit like Piccolo's.

A bald headed Saiyan instantly transformed into a Super Saiyan form, "It's a ruse, Vegeta has a much higher power reading right now! The Namekian was giving him his energy!"

Vegeta maintained his base form to conserve energy, he yelled, "Final Shine!" The wave of energy was able to vaporize two of the Saiyans and maim the other two.

Piccolo charged another attack with his one hand that was not on Vegeta, "Special Beam Cannon!" This took out another injured Saiyan. Only the braggart Saiyan was left, with his turban and cape.

Vegeta intelligently made an offer, "If you willingly give me your energy, I'll let you live." The Saiyan now powered back down to his base, and was trembling. Despite his tough military background he was rattled after 2,500 of his comrades died. Vegeta was able to now bring his energy back to acceptable combat level. "I'll keep my word." Vegeta smiled.

"Can I go now?" The opponent asked already backing away slowly.

"Wherever you go, my Namekian friend goes." Vegeta smiled while Piccolo crossed his arms with a similar smile, "I don't care what you two do, but I have a hot date I'd hate to miss."

"Before you go," Piccolo smiled before shooting a beam at Vegeta, giving him his iconic Saiyan armor, boots, and gloves, "I think you'll need this." Vegeta gave Piccolo a huge grin before taking off back towards the battle.

Gohan at this point was suffering, he could not get any of the Tuffles into a beam struggle or get a long hold of one of them to finish them off. Despite the fact Gohan was able to deal with blindness in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, the Tuffles' use of their scouters helped them react much more quickly to situations than ki-sense alone. Gohan could not predict their useful application since they were the downfall of so many opponents in his childhood. Despite the fact Stuka was becoming increasingly bloodied, without his sight he was not able to deal any significantly damaging blows to her. He thought to himself, "If I could only rob their sight from them like they did with mine…" He came up with an idea; one he would cop from Tien. "Well, two can play this game!" Gohan accurately predicted when both of the Tuffles would be in his hypothetical field of view. Gohan opened his palms and raised them to his ears yelling, "Solar Flare!"

This was by far the most blinding Solar Flare ever utilized, as even Vegeta saw and squinted from a blinding flash in the distance. Freon, while increasing his power was covering his eyes even though the attack wasn't directed at him. Bulla was smiling though writhing in pain from her blindness.

Roman, and even the Saiyan recruits appeared unaffected. He smiled, "Part of basic Neo-Saiyan training. Such a technique cannot halt an experienced soldier. Gohan is now vulnerable to an attack I never seen at its full power."

The unaffected Tuffles each charged an "L" from each of their hands. Zerstorer had an "L" and backwards "L" while Stuka's were each upside down in opposite directions. Zerstorer hovered over his sister. Both of them yelled their attack at the same time, "Cross-Bar! Ha!" A giant ki cross, that resembled a crosshair, was launched at very close distance to Gohan. He did not react due to assuming his enemies' paralysis from the Solar Flare. The attack was a direct hit, launching Gohan into the ground. After this the two Tuffles launched thousands of small kis at Gohan, causing a great deal of smoke. Only stopping when they had to catch their breath.

"He's still alive," Stuka said while looking at her scouter reading.

Zerstorer smiled as they were victorious, "He is, but his bones are broken. He has vast stores of energy but no way to fight the least bit effectively."

Roman looked at the still writhing Bulla, "That one was close. However you're forgetting the decades of preparations we've made for the operation. Every contingency was planned for, including every potential technique we knew we would come up against. Sadly your army has exhausted their reserves. After our massive costs, we've now emerged victorious."

Bulla trembled as Stuka now descended back down. "There's no need to be afraid. It's only natural to have your virtues be affected when growing up with Earth's greatest warriors. However, it's not too late to take up the Tuffle cause. You're brilliant mind belongs to the universe."

Bulla was now getting her sight back but was continuing to tremble, "Dr. Phillips, you're crazy!"

"Saiyans and Tuffles are truly meant to coexist. With our technologies, your brilliant mind will be enhanced with the direct doctoring of your DNA. You'll not only to be able to prevent starvation on Earth, but also to other species in the universe."

"I'll be honest," Bulla became more brave, "something about this, it feels so wrong."

"Right and wrong are completely subjective. Obviously that's the disagreement you saw unfold before you today."

It was difficult for Bulla to resist, as she admired Dr. Phillips' intellect for a long time. It almost felt natural to join. "If I join you, if I volunteer to become a Tuffle…" Bulla wondered out loud, "You'll spare Vegeta, eternally. No matter what he does! He's my father after all."

"Vegeta spent his entire life protecting you, now you'll have the power to protect him, until you convince him to accept the Tuffle DNA, where he will likely become the strongest warrior in the universe. He will accomplish his dreams, you will accomplish your dreams, and I will accomplish mine."

Bulla was convinced, she grabbed Stuka's hand and agreed. Freon now knew time has about run dry. He suddenly felt Vegeta's power, increasing rapidly, and heard the Saiyan yell, "Do it now!"

Freon yelled while raising both of his hands in air akin to the Spirit Bomb, "Kienzan!" Roman looked at the Arcosian with a queer look, he utilized his scouter and continued to look puzzled as his power level was far from significant. Stuka, Zerstorer, and Bulla thought he went mad. Freon spoke to himself, "Good… Good… Be arrogant if you want to!"

Lieutenant Nion looked at the air and yelled, "Mistress Stuka! Jump!" Stuka instinctively jumped as a purple Destructo Disc narrowly missed her. Zerstorer watched his sister jump in the air from what would have been a lethal attack.

"That scoundrel!" Zerstorer yelled, "He's dead!"

Freon appeared behind him with a full-nelson hold. He laughed, "You're right!" Zerstorer took to the sky as the Arcosian stuggled to maintain his hold on him.

Zerstorer saw it was too late to struggle his way out as the disc went straight towards both of them. Freon's face had a complete look of fear, as if he succeeded in defeating the Tuffle it would cost him his own life. It was a chance he would have to take at this stage. The disc went through both of them. As the halves of their bodies hit the ground, Bulla and Roman flew over to Freon and Stuka flew over to her brother.

"Why did you do that?" Bulla cried, "you didn't have to die."

Freon was spitting up a lot of blood, "I thought I might have a chance of surviving, but my kienzan, it's much too powerful. I maybe have an hour left."

Roman spoke to Bulla, "He'll never get the lower half of his body back, but he's an Arcosian. I can help him live. I have to get him to headquarters immediately."

"You would do that?" Bulla's tears started to drying up.

"It is not all good news," Freon responded even though he was still surprised, "after my wounds are healed, the Medical Machine will alter me into a Tuffle. Either way, I have been defeated. I prefer to die this way."

"No, I can get you a senzu bean!" Bulla was about to scramble.

"These?" Roman said holding the last two senzu beans, recently handed over to him by Lieutenant Nion. "I'm not sure if they will help half of a body survive."

"I never found out…" Bulla began to wonder if they should simply bring him to Tuffle headquarters to save his life even if his DNA gets altered.

Stuka was crying as her brother was speaking his last words to her. "I will never achieve universal domination," Zerstorer admitted, "but that still does not mean you will not be able to accomplish the revival of the Tuffle race, your dream. You no longer have to live to help me conquer the universe, but I do ask you to do one thing for me sister."

Stuka was crying over the top half of Zerstorer's body, "What brother, anything! You are the one who helped me make my case to Frieza. I would have never been able to accomplish close to the breakthroughs I have discovered in genetics without input of the Planet Trade's most brilliant minds."

"I want you to kill Vegeta for me…" Zerstorer clenched his teeth, "because I'll never be able to do it myself. His father caused extreme suffering to our people, even if they may have disdained us. The Saiyans could have liberated us from the King, instead they brought even worse suffering. They tried to take everything away from you too… Vegeta deserves to pay for his father's sins. Do this for me Kiki, I love you." He spat out blood before leaving with his terminal breath, "continue to increase your power, and continue to ensure the success of Citadel. Maybe one day, you will be able to cure yourself, and continue your bloodline with Roman."

Zerstorer closed his eyes as Stuka now held up his dead body. It began to rain, Roman floated over to his wife, trembling. "You will not like what I ask of you Kiki…" Roman looked at his wife, bleeding herself, now soaked with her brother's blood. "Lord Freon, the Arcosian. He will die if he doesn't receive treatment immediately."

To his surprise, Stuka did not become furious, "Put him in the medical machine. He will be half of his old self, but he will be a Tuffle in a week's time."

"He wishes to remain completely an Arcosian," Roman said expecting to now receive his wife's fury. He looked back towards her, and to his surprise, she did not erupt.

"Change the genetic modification settings, he will not leave the machine as strong, but he will live. Take him there yourself, take the recruits with you."

Roman smiled, "I'm happy you understand."

Bulla looked around as Roman, Freon, and the rest of the Saiyans left. She saw the unconscious bodies of Pan, Trunks, Goten, and the rest of the Z Fighters. The only one who did not remain unconscious was the blinded, and now paralyzed Gohan. "Bulla," Gohan spoke telepathically to her, "the Tuffle has a good reason for not killing the Arcosian."

"Wait… what?" Bulla spoke telepathically back to him.

"Vegeta, he is on his way here. Whatever she has planned, she does not want spectators here to watch it."

Bulla looked at the Tuffle, whose facial expressions appeared lifeless. "What did… What did your brother tell you to do my father? Tell me!" Bulla clenched her fist.

"Your father will be here in under a minute, why don't you wait and see." Stuka smiled, "Just because my brother told me to kill him. It doesn't mean I will."


	12. Chapter XII: No Forgiveness

Chapter XII: No Forgiveness

On Frieza Planet 150, the beam stuggle intensified. As the struggle increasingly became a stalemate, Nach smiled and laughed as a serious Majuub continued to struggle with his pink Kamehameha. "Our powers are even, a dead heat! How exciting!" Nach licked his lips.

Majuub laughed as he continued to struggle to keep up his power, "The difference between you and I, is that I can do this all day. Part of my being regenerates my stores of power as you grow tired. It may be unfair, but I'll still sleep easy at night."

Nach grimaced, "No, you're lying!"

"As a partial Majin, I retain powers that are impossible to come by any usual lifeform. I am a magical being!"

"So you don't fight fair do you!" Nach appeared to grow angry.

"If you say that… I guess I don't!" Majuub laughed even as Nach started to get the upper hand a little, "unlike me, you can't keep that up forever. Our level of peak power may be similar, but I am a superior fighter!"

Nach laughed, "You are forgetting about my quantitative superiority!" The Protection Squadron flew to their master and began launching their own waves of ki into his, making the Genocide Gun even stronger. Majuub started to sweat bullets. "Too bad! You'll lose! You're out of tricks!"

Uub's pink Kamehameha suddenly split into pieces around the Genocide Gun's wave of energy, the top half of Majuub's body could not avoid the attack, being disintegrated. However, Majuub's kamehameha's remained, resembling pieces of pink energy, hit all of Nach's Protection Squadron. Turning all of them into cakes and pastries. As the Genocide Gun indirectly hit the planet's crust causing a huge dusty explosion. Nach's victorious expression changed quickly, he was puzzled completely before the lower half of Majuub's body appeared infront of him. Nach clenched his teeth as Majuub slowly regenerated his being while taunting him, "You thought you ever had a chance against me? We may be pound for pound equals, but your magical powers are non-existent. Now your gangsters are tonight's dessert!"

"Wait… You…" Nach's clenched his fist, "How did Kakarot teach you everything, yet you maintain all of those techniques!"

Majuub smiled, "Now I know what Son Goku meant when he said that I would surpass him and protect the universe one day. I wanted to hold back my magic powers, just to test myself, but you and your cronies are just up to no good."

"Kakarot…" Nach looked on to Majuub, "He did not teach you to be an average Earthling. Everything he knew, he must have passed down to you!"

"He taught me everything except his Instant Transmission." Majuub smiled, "Not that I needed it."

Nach smiled, "Really, that's intriguing why would he not want to let his star pupil have access to that technique, whatever it is." Nach was trying to weigh his options at this point.

"Goku had to learn the technique himself in Yadarat. It cannot be taught by anyone but one of the planet's natives. No matter how long he tried, I could never learn the technique. In fact, I couldn't even copy it."

Nach laughed uproariously as he put his index finger and middle finger on his forehead. "Good, I have a lot of training to do!"

Majuub realized he was tricked, "What do you mean?"

"I have to train, to become stronger, we'll meet again someday! You see? I myself learned the technique on Yadarat, before I destroyed the planet myself to ensure no one else would have access to it." Nach continued to laugh.

"What are you going to do?" Majuub got ready to pounce.

"As we speak," Nach laughed, "The Earth has become entirely populated with Tuffles, my supposed allies. I can return there instantly, you simply cannot! Take your time to prepare for our rematch, I will! I have the ability to become even stronger than I already am!" Nach waved his tail. "Farewell Earthling, see you soon, for your sake, not too soon!" He laughed as he instantly disappeared.

Majuub trembled and sweated, he spoke to himself, "No one on Earth can be as powerful as I… Gohan and Vegeta can't beat him alone, and I'm stuck here on some rock!" Majuub's anger caused a large amount of pink ki energy to explode the ground around him.

Vegeta landed in front of Bulla and Stuka in his base form. Stuka looked at Vegeta's intense expression. She started using her scouter and thought to herself, "How did he get this much more powerful in the last two minutes… He must have figured out how to abandon his Super Saiyan form, and gain access to his power. His power, it's at 560!" Stuka then spoke aloud, "Why have you come back Vegeta? You have to keep yourself safe to walk your daughter down the aisle!"

Vegeta continued to look at Stuka with his intense his expression. His daughter ran over to him and pleaded to him, holding his wrist, "Zerstorer, her brother is dead. She even allowed the Saiyans to help save Freon's life. She told me herself she does not want to kill you, please don't do anything—"

Vegeta pulled her hand off of his wrist as he continued to walk towards the Tuffle. Stuka knew Vegeta had something planned for her, "Vegeta, why have you come back here…" She noticed that her once strong position has eroded rapidly, especially with Vegeta's new latent power.

Vegeta continued to look on to the Tuffle angrily, "I can sense everything that's happened here. I do not need to know that you were manipulating my daughter. That's something you'll pay for dearly."

"We don't have to fight Vegeta," Stuka tried to reason with him, "Considering you'll be a Tuffle sometime today. It would be little use to try to kill me."

"Oh, you mean your underground headquarters, I saw your men there. It did not take long for Piccolo and I to dispatch them. I don't think there'll be any more Fruitgas anytime soon."

Stuka started trying to access her headquarters on her scouter, she was not able to obtain a connection, she thought to herself, "My men brought Vegeta right over to the headquarters! My satellite's still online, I may still be able to recoup and reinitiate Citadel at a later date."

"What, you have nothing to say before you die?" Vegeta clenched his fist.

"I will not kill you," Stuka tried to reason with him, "because you are not your father."

"Says who, the dirty Tuffle?" Vegeta's bioelectricity started to spark.

"I would not advise facing me," she bluffed, "it didn't go so well for you last time."

"Last time I did not know how to access my full potential," Vegeta snarled, "As soon as my daughter, Bulla, got caught up in this. I didn't care about winning, losing, or even this rotten rock called Earth! I only cared about Bulla's safety at any cost! Stronger or weaker, that became irrelevant to me. I wasn't afraid of facing a stronger foe. Thus, I have accessed my ultimate power… Like Gohan apparently, and the Saiyan you call your husband!"

"What!" Stuka started sweating bullets, "but how?"

"Don't tell me that I'm not my father. My father, King Vegeta, educated me on all the Saiyan legends. About the royal blood flowing through my veins!" Vegeta's white aura flashed violently, "How he saved the Saiyan race from those blood thirsty Tuffles!"

"After we capitulated," Stuka became angry, "how were we held responsible for the evils of so few? All of us were either killed or subjected to a fate even worse than that!"

"Considering the enslavement of Saiyans for hundreds of years, your simple extermination was being let off easy." Vegeta roared back, becoming equally angry.

"How about those with a worse fate, like myself?" Stuka became Super Saiyan 2 while clenching her left fist, the bioelectricity flowed more violently than ever and suddenly the landscape was engulfed in a tempest. The disturbance of the Earth was seen from space.

Vegeta smiled, "The fate of the women in the camps." It was apparent the Saiyan had complete knowledge of the situation, "Were you there for business, pleasure, or both?" The Tuffle continued to uncontrollably increase her power, her rage was allowing her to feel strength never felt before. Vegeta continued to chide his opponent, "If you're wondering, I would not change a single thing my father did. Every Tuffle deserved the punishment they received, and High Class Warrior elites were always meant to rule Planet Vegeta."

"Do you feel that Lord Beerus?" Whis said to the god of destruction, now both floating over the scene. "Both of their power, it's increasing substantially."

"I do, if I had things my way both of them would perish in this battle, that way I can get back to my rightful place as the god of destruction!" Lord Beerus said with now some rare confidence.

"After a well-deserved nap of course!" Whis smiled with his eyes closed.

"Well, yes! We have to make sure that Bulla is safe, the planet may not be able to withstand the damage it's about to take." Beerus said with a rare moment of heroism.

Whis crossed his arms angrily, "How about Gohan and the others?"

"What about them?" Beerus argued back, implying Bulla, a friend of sorts to him, was the only one worth saving. As Whis shook his head in disapproval, Beerus agreed reluctantly turning his back upon Whis, "Ok, when the battle starts, we'll have to bring the others to safety."

Bulla tried to reason with the two out of control warriors in front of her, "There's no need to settle a grudge match from eighty years ago we can settle in peace! Dr. Phillips, if you stop Citadel, you don't have to fight my father!"

"Bulla get out of here, you could get hurt!" Vegeta yelled protectively at her.

"Daddy, you know at this point the Tuffle is outnumbered! She cannot take over the Earth!" Bulla continued to reason with him.

"Get out of here or you'll get killed!" Vegeta yelled, tearing a little as he continued to lose control over his increasing power as the tempest intensified, "Whether there was a Citadel or not, every Tuffle has to pay for the crimes committed against the Saiyan race!"

"Listen to yourself daddy! There's no more Saiyan race, or, at least Saiyans not allied to the Tuffles. There is no need to settle a score from almost a hundred years ago!" Bulla continued to plead.

"Ms. Briefs, it is difficult for you to understand, when a Saiyan is readying for battle they cannot be reasoned with. The urge to fight becomes the only thing in their minds. He is in fact holding back the last of his full strength to try to get you to leave to a safe place. Please get to safety right now, it's almost too late." Stuka reasoned with Bulla, knowing at this point Vegeta did not seek to apologize in any way, shape, or form to the Tuffles. Bulla, who was crying took to the sky and away from where the most intense part of the tempest was situated. "Your welcome, Vegeta." An angry Stuka looked back upon the unappreciative Saiyan.

"The affection you have for my daughter disgusts me." Vegeta looked at her back with his destructive aura and increasing intensity, "If it was not for the way you consumed her admiration, I would have never got access to this newfound power."

"If you ever want to clean your soul from its evil, if you ever want to be the father that Ms. Briefs deserves," Stuka extended an ultimatum, "you will come to me to our satellite, enter the medical machine, and accept the amalgamation of the Tuffle life force. Otherwise, you will remain to be a helplessly evil murderous Saiyan."

This was the last straw for Vegeta who struck first, causing the intense battle to begin. From the view of Earth in space, you could see the tempest rapidly change places on that part of the Earth as the two warriors fought furiously. Roman and the recruits were looking at the view from space as Freon was put into the medical machine. "I've never seen such powerful warriors enable this amount of wanton destruction." Roman said worrying about both of them, "they are surely both Saiyans who have completely lost their minds at this point."

Lieutenant Nion came to his Colonel, "What do you mean? The Mistress is a Tuffle."

"As soon as that Super Saiyan transformation occurs, a little bit of your mind is consumed by your instincts. Saiyan instincts are to fight. The fact that she has now entered the raging state, she trades self-control for more power. There's no telling what both of them now will be capable of."

"Like destroying the Earth?" Nion stated.

"Exactly, now that Freon and the most of you are safe, I need to come down there and make sure no one gets hurt. No one else is alive or conscious enough to do it." Roman reasoned.

"Understood," Nion saluted, "I'll make sure the Arcosian makes a full recovery and that the Romaine Division stays safe up here with me."

Vegeta's Gallic Gun and Stuka's Dive Bombs kept exploding on each other, continuing the stalemate. The two warriors continued to fight hand and hand, but to no avail. Stuka created a ball of energy, throwing it into the ground. Vegeta looked below the both of them, as water started shooting out, fearing that the attack was design to destroy the Earth. The ball of energy ripped out of the ground behind Vegeta and knocked him into the air, this is when Stuka launched a furious wave of energy, trying to push Vegeta into space where he could not breathe. Vegeta knew he was in danger, it was not until a mysterious attack furiously blasted away the Tuffle before the wave stopped pushing the Saiyan further into space. Vegeta was panting and descending as quickly as possible back to the Earth, "That nasty Tuffle, she almost killed me, without even using her best techniques!"

Stuka looked at the sight that distracted her, it was none other than Whis holding his staff. She never met or knew about this deity before, but her scouter seemed to indicate she had nothing to be afraid of as she started to walk fearlessly before him. Whis started sweating bullets and trembling, "You do not know who I am, or why I am here…"

Stuka looked angrily upon the deity, grabbed him by the wrist, and effortlessly broke it, "I do not know why you got in the way between Vegeta and I! I suggest you take your brittle self far away from here, next time I will not let you off with a warning!"

"Vegeta and yourself, you have to put this aside, and come with me for this is about the fate of the Multiverse—"

"You loon!" She grabbed the broken wrist, causing Whis to wince and tear in pain, "Get far away from here man or I'll send you into another dimension!" Beerus tried to launch furious ki attacks into the Tuffle creating smoke, this caused Stuka to use her telekinesis to easily grab the god of destruction and choke him with one hand before dropping both of them. "You two are extremely annoying!"

"I would know!" Said Vegeta, completing his descent with his arms crossed, "I see that the useless duo helped me out for once! I think I may let them go scott-free after this battle!"

"You…" Stuka complained, "You know these two?"

"Of course!" Vegeta laughed, "They're my pets, one is the god of destruction and the other is his teacher who is almost twice as strong as him. I trained under him myself."

"You maniac, you know there's no such thing aso gods! Why am I standing here right now?" Stuka continued to power up in her form.

"Because I'm letting you!" Vegeta smirked. This caused the two huge powers to again fight furiously. At this point. Nach appeared back on Earth, and witnessed the gray skies. He looked around and saw lighting flashing and electricity flowing from cloud to cloud. He began to use his scouter, and he trembled at what he saw.

"Amazing!" Nach trembled in a rare moment of fear, "The Neo-Saiyan army, Zerstorer, and General Cori, they're all gone!" Nach looked at his shaking feet below him and suddenly gained control over himself. "The Earth does not look like it has much left at this rate." Suddenly he saw General Cori laying on the ground, barely breathing. "What? You're still alive, there's virtually no power signature."

"Nach…" She barely breathed out, "Bring me immediately to the Medical Machine… I do not know what happened after I fought Gohan, but it's not good."

"The Earth… Did you release the Fruitgas?" Nach asked, trying to be updated on the situation.

"Citadel…. Has failed." General Cori admitted. "The most I could do, is be healed, and recoup our losses and reinforce the ranks."

"What you see here…" Nach pleaded, bending over with admiration to the beautiful but paralyzed Saiyan, "Is not an end, but a beginning. The Tuffles, they are about to be no more."

General Cori's eyebrows appeared angry, "What are you getting at Nach…"

"The Protection Squadron, I admit, suffered defeat from a single Earthling. Kakarot's pupil, some man named Majuub. His power was amazing, but he is stuck out there somewhere in space. You see, both of us are the last of a dying breed."

"Nach..." Cori tried to hide her disgust.

"What you see here remaining are the finest genetic specimens of the Saiyan race. With the Tuffle technology at our disposal, we can prevent degradation of the genepool through generations. We can populate the universe with a new and even more powerful Saiyan race. Our power will be unmatched and our rule will be unchallenged!"

"You fool…" Cori tried to sound angry, but lacked the strength to. "What's the point? It doesn't matter who's a saiyan, who's a Tuffle, who's an Earthling or Arcosian, we're all living things, none more valuable than the other."

"What do you mean? All of the other genetic scum equal to us?" An angry Nach clenched his fists, "You don't have to brownnose anymore. Your stupid Tuffle Master Zerstorer is dead according to the scouter. He's completely offline and his life force has vanished. Both of us were always meant to be, admit it. When I found you as a blind bounty hunter, hiding your Saiyan identity, I brought you back where you belonged with your kin. It was because of I you became the strongest Saiyan in the ranks. This was the master plan all along, I was supposed to be King, and you were supposed to be Queen, and rule over all!"

"I don't care about you or the Saiyan race." General Cori finally summoned the strength to fight verbally with Nach, "The moment I made the decision to become a Tuffle, I gained back my sight in more ways than one. The Saiyans were a sickening people, I remember because I was on the front lines when we annihilated the Tuffle army. King Vegeta promised us slaves, tracts of land, riches, and technologies to make our lives easier. Instead, all of us became enslaved under our good king, and became educated with how inferior, weak, stupid, and worthless we were. I was called a low class dog, because of my mere power level of a thousand due to my improper training, but I was paraded around like a prize bitch due to my appearance. I got to know what seemed like each High Class Saiyan intimately. The day I made my escape was the happiest day of my life. I wished every day until the moment I figured out Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta to put an end to the Saiyan race. When you recruited me, and brought me over to the Tuffles, I was finally able to erase my Saiyan past, and become the proud Tuffle you see before you!"

"A Tuffle? You're crazy!" Nach tried to hold back tears.

"You're a Tuffle too, don't get it twisted." General Cori dismissed him.

"That's where you're wrong! I'll let you in on a secret, everyone who was in the Protection Squadron and myself achieved a form beyond Super Saiyan 3…"

"Oh, one off those stupid transformations that make you tired…"

"Not exactly that! I remember, when I was trying to complete a recruitment mission. I was about to overpower yet another potential recruit, before he said he had the keys to our destruction. After the soldiers and I laughed at him, he launched a Power Ball into the sky. We lost all control of ourselves, as Super Saiyans, and became the mighty Oozaru!"

"So what! It's impossible to control your power in that form!"

"You were right, I was losing my mind. In the last of my memories, the Saiyan took to his pod and left while I was killing what were my brothers in arms. I was close to destroying the planet, I had no mind! I remembering staring at the moon, begging to keep the power as my own, whether I lived or not. The moment I made that decision, I started gaining control over the Oozaru! The moment I finally kept the power as my own, I started losing the form, but not the power, I became the legendary Super Saiyan 4! I realized, I felt a change in my mind. I didn't feel like a Tuffle anymore. I felt the surge that you only feel from the gravity on Planet Plant after a great fight. I felt the ancestors of my great Saiyan heritage. I've realized, I've maintained my increases in power but became a full-blooded Saiyan once again! No longer polluted by the Tuffle enhancements, but their gains maintained!"

"I've never seen such a form! You know looking at the moon will kill you!"

"Ha! You see, once I let go my fear of Zerstorer, I've achieved the same Ultimate form as yourself. But there's one difference between you and I."

"I see…" General Cori gasped, "Now that you are permanently in your base form, and you have control over the Oozaru, you have now become the only Saiyan to achieve yet another transformation."

Nach laughed, "Exactly! Imagine the power of the Oozaru in its Ultimate form! With complete control of the beast. I don't simply call myself the most powerful in the universe out of blind pride. Join me, feel power you cannot imagine! Gain control of your Saiyan identity!"

"My Saiyan identity died long ago," General Cori spat back angrily, "I'll will breathe my terminal breath as a Tuffle."

"So…" Nach extended his hand at the paralyzed Saiyan, "You shall." With one blast he killed General Cori, disintegrating even her ashes. "This is tragic, I'll now have to find a willing Saiyan recruit, or worst yet a hybrid. Time to finish the job, I cannot have these high power levels roaming around freely." Nach's white aura appeared as he took to the sky.

Piccolo looked stunned, and trembled instantly, "What! That power! How did another appear? I feel it, it's so… evil!"

The captured Saiyan, exhausted of energy looked back at the Namekian, "That's Nach! He's one of our Colonels, how did he return back to Earth so quickly? It should have taken at least a day."

Piccolo grabbed his arm and started to take flight with the Saiyan, "Come with me!"

Bulla was with Gohan, and the others. Gohan started speaking to Bulla, "I sense a terrible power level coming here, it came, it came out of nowhere. Like Instant Transmission, but it's not my dad."

"Who could it be?" Bulla wondered fearfully, "I have to get you a senzu bean."

"There's good news, the Saiyan with the Senzu beans, he's coming back here too. We don't have much to go with anymore, but we need him on our side, I need the bean, grab my hand."

"Why?" Bulla wondered until she felt a huge surge of power in her, making her muscles bulge a little as a white aura appeared. "What? This power? I never felt this strong before!"

"I can't make much use of it with my bones broken!" Gohan said, "You may have enough to wrest the two beans from him if he doesn't hand them over willingly!"

Stuka and Vegeta continued their furious battle, both of them sustained enough damage now that both decided to go for the death blow. "I'm going to show you something no one has ever seen before!" Yelled Vegeta, "With my increase in power, I have improved my Final Shine technique!"

Stuka began powering up for her most lethal technique, "You are getting tired Vegeta! The Calamity Blaster is straight from the old school, back on Planet Plant. A favorite of Kakarot's bloodline. Your Earth-influenced technique will be no match for it!"

"Talk is cheap!" Vegeta now extended his hands and roared, "Super Final Shine, fire!"

Stuka reared back her two arms and launched her furious attack, "Calamity Blaster, ha!" The beam struggle was making the Earth crack below them. Slowly Vegeta was losing ground, he realized even with a slight advantage in power, Stuka still had an edge with pure ki attacks since she was inferior hand to hand. Vegeta could not believe even with his newfound power, he was about to lose. "You're running out of moments Vegeta? Any last wishes?"

"No!" Vegeta yelled despite continuing to lose ground, "I'll stand right here and die for my Bulla!"

"Think with the last moments of your life, that she will soon be a Tuffle like I. I regret that her father will not walk her down the aisle!"

"No!" Vegeta cried, now simply appearing to hold the furious Calamity Blaster wave back with his hands. Suddenly Vegeta felt as if a huge weight was lifted off him as his Super Final Shine now launched forward without resistance and into space. Vegeta looked and saw Stuka knocked down on the ground with another Saiyan, who appeared alike Raditz, standing over her. "You!" Vegeta looked over and came to the scene, he knew it was far too convenient. "Who are you?"

Nach bowed over, "Prince Vegeta, my name is Nach. I, like these other Saiyans were enslaved by these vicious Tuffles."

Stuka, stunned, started to stand up and wipe the blood off of her face, "Shut the front door!" She said in disgust.

"You see," Nach continued to explain, "we were forced to be subjugated to Tuffle DNA against our will. I'm here because I'm joining you in regaining our Saiyan freedom. I am your ally."

Vegeta smiled, "If you're my ally. Kill that filthy Tuffle over there."

Nach first took a reading on the scouter to see if it was even possible, Stuka was immensely powerful. After he saw that her maximum level was higher, but only a much lower level of power could be utilized due to injury and fatigue, he complied, "With pleasure Prince Vegeta." He kneed the Tuffle in the stomach, and the two fought furiously. Since Nach was well informed of Stuka's weaknesses, he continued to fight her hand to hand, something she could not adequately compete with as her power was reduced and Nach still had access to most of his energy. Stuka was now bleeding to the point that her power was decreasing rapidly, as she screamed in pain, she blasted herself in the air with two waves of ki, trying to utilize what little advantage in speed she had left. "With your brother dead, you know I've been waiting for this day my entire life!"

Roman ran into Bulla, who appeared to be there to stop them. She saw that Roman had a grave look of concern on his face, "Here are your magic beans." Roman handed them over without wishing to fight, "Please help your friend." He was trembling out of sadness, "My wife does not have much time." Bulla nodded, allowing Roman to take flight past her. With the beans in her hand, she picked up Gohan's body and then flew to the scene of the battle.

At this point, Nach grabbed a hold of Stuka and started choking her. The Saiyan smiled as his lips were close to the Tuffle's, "I'm going to enjoy watching you die slowly before me." Vegeta, a far distance away, was standing on the ground smiling as his 'ally' was killing the Tuffle in front of him. Roman tried a surprise attack on Nach, but his kick to Nach's head bounced off as his scouter indicated the attack was coming. Roman tried to launch many small ki balls into Nach, but to no avail, it only created more smoke. Nach was furious at what he seen as betrayal, "How dare you do that to your own brother!"

Roman hopelessly tried to pull his arms off of the Tuffle, "You let Kiki go or you're no brother of mine!"

With a wave of energy from his back, akin to Cell, he pushed off Roman. "If you're going to be that way, you'll join her shortly!"

Bulla arrived with Gohan, placing him on the ground next to Vegeta. Bulla looked shocked as she seen a new Saiyan choking her professor to death, "Daddy? You're not going to help her? Don't you sense the evil?"

"You're joking!" Vegeta said, "This ally of mine is taking care of her for us, so you could be safe."

Bulla transformed into Super Saiyan 5, now losing any reason she had left of her own, "Daddy, you can be so stubborn sometimes!" She launched herself into the air.

Vegeta followed her, "No!"

Bulla had a very bold idea as she witnessed Roman's attacks having very little effect on the Saiyan. Roman wrapped himself around his brother, starting a self-destruct technique. Bulla did not want this virtuous Saiyan to die. She yelled, "Super Gallic Gun!" Stuka noticed that the wave of energy was going straight towards her, causing her to smile. Nach wondered how this could in anyway help Stuka, but her body was blasted off of his hands. Stuka, now back in her base form and bleeding profusely fell back into the ground. She barely had the strength to stand up in her crater.

"You're a smart one…" Nach smiled, "I see, you hurt the Tuffle, even severly, to spare her life…"

Bulla, with her violent white Super Saiyan 5 aura smiled back, "And if I did?" Nach quickly utilized the Afterimage and slapped Bulla.

"You're feisty!" Nach smiled, "And you're a Saiyan, I think we're a good match!"

Vegeta suddenly forced himself between them, causing Bulla to float back behind her father who was instinctively protecting her. "What did you say to my daughter?"

"Prince Vegeta!" Nach started to sweat, "I was just asking for your daughter's hand, to… Continue the proud Saiyan race under your great rule!"

Vegeta slapped Nach violently, "You dirtbag! My daughter is engaged to a gentleman. His power is…" Vegeta made a look of disgust in his face, "Absolutely pathetic but he has a strong heart. If you want to live. Leave this planet right now. You, the Tuffles, and the rest of you Saiyan rejects, do what you want to the universe. But leave Bulla and the Earth out of it."

"I see you truly made this place your home…" Since the both of them were Saiyans, they did not need to continue with the discussion, they did what Saiyans did best instead, fight.

Vegeta crossed his arms, "Your power, while truly impressive, is not that of mine. Kakarot's son, as you see below you, has even greater power than I, which he will gladly show you after he heals."

At this point, Piccolo returned to the scene of the Z Fighters' unconscious bodies. One by one, he used his energy to make each warrior rise. Pan, Turnks, and Goten were the first three to be helped by Piccolo. "Mr. Piccolo?" Pan said, "I thought, I thought you were dead!"

"You were guarding the gates of the afterlife." Trunks looked at Piccolo, however Goten had a much wiser outlook on the situation.

"I don't care why he's here, we need to find out what's going on." Goten said with a serious tone.

"After I wake up the others," Piccolo breathed deeply while reviving 18, "I'll fill you in."

Roman simply watched the Z Fighters rise, at this point, he was no longer concerned about Citadel but the clash of powers occurring nearby them. Trunks looked up at the Saiyan, "I guess he's on our side."

Piccolo was now moving on to Krillin, "Well, kind of!" He rushed.

"If you won't leave," Vegeta continued to make his ultimatum with Nach, "I'll have no choice but to destroy you."

"Do you see this?" Nach pointed out, waving his tail.

"Yes, your stupid tail. I don't have mine anymore." Vegeta screamed angrily.

"You know, the Saiyan form both of us have…" Nach continued to chide Vegeta.

"Yes the Ultimate Form, get to the point, I may die of old age if you continue." Vegeta crossed his arms while being a little upset.

"I know, that the moon has been destroyed on this planet long, long ago." Nach looked up into the sky.

"And?" Vegeta reasoned, "So what, with enough Blutz waves anyone could become Super Saiyan 4, not that it's any useful after the discovery of the Ultimate form."

"One thing I always admired about the Vegetas…" Nach continued, "is their ability to control the beast that is the Oozaru.

"That's a family secret on mine!" Vegeta smiled and closed his eyes, "It was tragic my children had their tails removed! I would have loved showing them."

"You see, I figured it out." Nach smiled.

"You're going to turn Super Saiyan 4 on me, how disappointing," Vegeta laughed, "you'll die faster than expected!"

"No, not that!" Nach smiled, "You get to be the first to witness a transformation beyond the Ultimate Form!" Nach yelled as he launched his Power Ball into the sky, creating a fake moon. Soaking the Saiyans below full of Blutz waves.

"Oh no…" Roman looked at the false moon above him, "He's really doing it."

The Saiyan who was next to Piccolo screamed in fear and ripped his tail out. Trunks yelled at him, "What in the world's wrong with you!"

"It's in basic training!" The Saiyan educated Trunks, "If you see the moon you will lose your mind! Without this tail…" He dropped the writhing tail to the ground, "I cannot be killed by my own involuntary actions!"

Roman, without a tail for many decades, looked over as he saw his brother transforming into the terrible beast, stretching the Protection Squadron armor. He looked as the Giant Ape screamed into the sky, shooting a wave of ki out of his mouth and far into the reaches of space. Bulla who was terrified, gripped her father tightly and cried, "Daddy, I don't think he has control over the form!"

Vegeta, even in his Ultimate Form was trembling, due to the extreme nature of the power. He knew at this moment he was truly in his base form until he could get rid of the fear. He looked into the beast's eyes, who looked back into his. "Bulla," he broke the bad news to his daughter, "he has complete control over the form. He has truly achieved a transformation beyond Ultimate. Grandpa… He was right."

"That the Saiyan's ultimate power lies in his tail?" Bulla repeated as if she heard the tale her entire life.

"Yes…" Vegeta said, now looking bold standing in front of his daughter to protect her, regaining his Ultimate Form.

Nach, in his Oozaru form laughed maniacally while activating his Ultimate Saiyan white aura, "Do you now witness what is by far the strongest force in the Universe? You're all ants getting in my way; I will crush the each of you!"


	13. Chapter XIII: The Last Stand

Chapter XIII: The Last Stand

Stuka stood up in fear, not knowing that after all of these years they were feeding a monster, how her brother and herself could be so foolish. "Tell me how…" Stuka trembled as she spoke to the giant monkey, "Tell me how you will enjoy living in an universe without any Saiyans left in it!"

"You Tuffles and the Saiyans contaminated by them, will be destroyed." Nach reasoned, "But, there may be dozens of Saiyans left, off-spring of Saiyans launched for Frieza's past conquests. They can be cultivated into my new saiyan society. My new universe order if you will. The only ones left alive, will be Saiyans. Any other lifeform does not deserve to live. They are all genetic waste as far as I'm concerned. Only Saiyans ever had the capability from being mere slaves, to exceeding the power of the Arcosians, and even the power of the universe's greatest scientifically crafted warriors. Even you, you dirty Tuffle, could only achieve your extreme power through Saiyan DNA. Saiyans, by design are the universe's strongest! Now, all life forms in existence, except Saiyans will be extinguished. Call it my final solution of the age old problem of the universe. Too many weaklings, too many undeserving of life."

"You're sick!" Stuka yelled.

"What makes you different than I, you tried to transform the whole universe into Tuffles!"

"The difference is no one dies and everyone gets superior reasoning skills." Stuka still arrogantly believed in Citadel's objectives.

"So, you take away everyone's decision to make a choice, like you tried to do with me? What you succeeded to do with my brother?"

"Yes… Yes I have." Stuka admitted, "But why make the choice, when you can still have the free will?"

"Free will without a choice, truly a paradox!" Nach laughed, "We're truly alike Stuka, there will be no choice to be made when everyone dies!"

Roman floated down to where to where Vegeta and Bulla were situated, he spoke authoritatively to Bulla, "You must use one of the magic beans on Gohan, it's the only card we can play!"

While Bulla was pulling out the beans, Vegeta brought up an obvious point, "I'm sure you can see with your scouter that neither Gohan nor I stand a chance against the Oozaru, even all of us fighting him at the same time will be futile."

Roman was angry, he screamed at Vegeta, "Then what do you suggest Prince Vegeta?"

"All of you, even the Tuffle, have to distract Nach long enough for Gohan and I to try the Metamorphese fusion." Vegeta reasoned.

"That's right," Gohan spoke from his limp body. "Only fusion will give us the chance to even approach that level of power."

"Then it's obvious, we give Gohan the bean to enable him to do the fusion dance!" Bulla pleaded.

"This may be a risk," Gohan responded, "but I can use my telekinesis to do the fusion dance by moving all of my limbs despite my bones being broken. As a fused warrior, we will have all of our energy, and none of our bones will be broken. Wounds don't carry over during the fusion."

"Exactly!" Vegeta smiled, "we need every bean we can get as the Oozaru will likely bring us to the brink of death on more than one occasion. I hope two beans are enough."

Bulla's Super Saiyan 5 aura now flashed violently and Roman's white aura activated, both of them floated to where the Oozaru's eyes were. Stuka, now that her conversation was finished, floated up to where the two were, reactivating her Super Saiyan 2 form despite bleeding profusely. "How pathetic," Nach laughed, "So they send the gnats to bite me! You'll be the first to try, the first to die!"

All three of them shot as many ki blasts as possible at the Oozaru. The attacks were so useless that they did not even cause an explosion, they simply were repelled by the ape's fur. "What?" Stuka was panting, struggling to stay in her Super Saiyan 2 form, "He's way too strong! We can't even distract him."

"Worst yet," Roman pointed out what was now obvious, "chopping the tail is not an option."

Nach's laughter shook the planet as now all of Earth's skies, even night skies turned gray and the only source of light became the lighting rolling through cloud to cloud as the tempest intensified. Chi Chi was quivering from inside her house while the Ox King was laying in a huge bed, ill. "We've had a good long run Chi-Chi. When Goku left with the dragon, that meant he is truly never coming back."

Chi-Chi while shaking, teared up, "Maybe not today, but I know in my soul Goku is returning."

Korin and Yajoirobe were standing while the whole lookout was shaking. "It looks like the end is coming," the wise Korin deduced, "because that level of power is purely evil and we have no one who can approach it and not a single senzu bean more to provide to Earth's defenders."

King Kai, on his newly rebuilt planet spoke to the Old Kai and Kaioshin, "It looks like my universe is about to be doomed due to yet another large power I could not anticipate."

The Old Kai responded the obvious to him, "Well, we didn't become gods because we know a lot of things or do a lot of good. Over the millions of years there were plenty of things we didn't see coming."

King Kai smiled, "Yeah, like Frieza, Dr. Gero, Dabura and Babidi, Baby, Dr. Myuu, the Shadow Dragons, the gods of destruction…"

"Both of you have to get away from here," Stuka ordered them, "I have no choice but to be sacrificed first. We need to buy the time for Vegeta's fusion."

"No, you'll die!" Roman objected!

Nach laughed as he grabbed the both of them. "I don't need to watch you suffer," he informed them, "I can crush you right now and go straight to destroying the Earth."

"You'll die too you idiot!" Stuka shot back at him.

"No! I have the power of Instant Transmission!" He laughed, "As soon as this planet goes boom! I will appear at my next destination. If there are no Saiyans, I will repeat the process. Easy as pie!"

"I would say you look ready to take on the world if I didn't know better!" Vegeta pointed out as Gohan appeared to be standing, as he was exhausting his ki to move every part of his body purely on telekinesis. They repeatedly tried the dance, but it was not working. "Darn it! We may have to waste one of the beans!"

"We cannot be frustrated," Gohan pointed out, "we have to give it our best."

"Wait a second," Vegeta said as he now copied Gohan, now moving every bone in his body purely on telekinesis.

Both of them spoke, "Fu… Sion… Ho!" Suddenly a blinding light occurred causing Nach to drop Stuka and Roman. His jaw dropped as he saw this new warrior appear before him. This new Saiyan retained the ultimate form, with the white aura calmly flashing. Bulla smiled at how amazing her father's power was combined with Gohan's. Roman smirked, as he was amazed of how vast their Saiyan capabilities were. Stuka just looked on as she realized how underprepared she was all along. She took to the ground while Nach was distracted.

"Who…" Nach looked on, never seeing a fusion before, "who are you? Tell me what happened to Vegeta and Gohan?" As the new warrior laughed, Nach realized they were standing before him, "How, how did you combine your powers?"

"My name is Vegetan," the new warrior laughed at the ape, "we performed a Metamorphese fusion. For the next thirty minutes, our powers will be combined. Not that we'll need it."

Nach sensed the power was strong, but not as strong as him, "Your bluff doesn't work with me, I don't need a scouter to realize that while there is parity, you are hardly the odds on favorite."

Roman looked at Bulla, "Go to your base form, save your energy." Bulla reverted to her base form, "save the beans, it looks like Vegetan will exhaust his energy on more than one occasion."

"I'm not even at my full power yet, I can still feel newly discovered yet untapped strength beneath me. Give me a chance to show it to you!" Vegetan knew that his opponent, as a Saiyan, would give him the time to tap into the power.

"Sure," Nach said, "No skin off of my muzzle, ha ha!"

Vegetan's aura turned light blue as he continued to power up, the tempest in the sky disappeared and the sunset came out. Everyone in the Earth was in awe as the skies to turned blue or into clear night seemingly instantly. "Impossible!" Nach said while feeling Vegetan's energy, "with Prince Vegeta as a component, how can your energy be purely good?"

Vegetan, still in his ultimate form, had a violent blue aura with bio-electricity looked on to the Oozaru, "Right now, our mind is one, the only thing we are thinking about is the safety of the universe and everyone living in it!"

"I'll now have extra enjoyment when I kill everyone living in it fool!"

"Come get this!"

The clashes could be seen from space as the two powers collided all over the Earth. Vegetan was a purely serious fighter, he did not hesistate for one moment. Sadly, along with the increase in size, Nach's speed also increased, so neither warrior could gain the upper hand. Roman was using his scouter to detect the changes in power, "They are fighting so quickly even this model is lagging behind, wow. They're amazing!"

Bulla looked over at him optimistically, "So Dad and Gohan are doing well!"

"Not exactly, it does project for them to tire within five minutes. They won't even last the whole fusion." Roman observed.

Bulla was surprised, "But, how?"

"I don't know, this is new to me too." Roman admitted. Both of them descended to the ground where Stuka reverted to her base form.

"I'm out of power, I can't fight." Stuka told the both of them, unable to continue due to the severity of her wounds, "I need to go to the satellite and seek the medical machine."

"I understand." Roman agreed, "you'll soon succumb to your injuries unless you get help immediately."

Bulla looked at the both of them. Stuka put her hand on Bulla's shoulder, "I'm sorry Ms. Briefs. I'm sorry for disappointing you with who I am."

"It's hard to know what to think right now," Bulla admitted, "after Nach is defeated, where do we go from here?"

"That depends entirely upon if Vegeta and Gohan let me live. Likely, we'll have to escape and come back another day."

"But my dissertation, I will have to start it over." Bulla was concerned, "well, the crops did get destroyed on my way here. My father made me swear upon the project not to get involved."

"Oh no…" Stuka felt sad, "what is destroyed can be rebuilt again, other than lives of course."

"Before you leave," Bulla asked, "what will happen to Citadel?"

Vegetan and Nach stopped exchanging punches suddenly by talking. "We're not going to find out who will emerge victorious by simple sparring," Nach chided, "you must show me the full extent of your power. I'm sure you're afraid it's not enough!"

"You just want me to exhaust my strength," Vegetan pointed out.

"And if I am? You'll have little choice. You see, I can destroy the planet right now with my finger. He said while starting to charge ki from his fingertip."

Vegetan became angry, "No, you won't!"

Nach tried to scatter thousands of scatter shots from his finger, causing Vegetan to frantically bounce them away to prevent them from getting a full penetration of the Earth. "You're getting tired, I can do this all day. At this point you'll be defeated by simple exhaustion!"

Vegetan was running out of options, he continued to appeal to the Saiyan's urge to find a greater challenger. "My body, it's worn down. Let me get a senzu bean, then I'll be able to achieve the greatest extent of my power."

"Let you power up again? How pathetic!" Nach scoffed.

"Don't fool yourself, you want to find out how strong I can be." Vegetan pointed out, "As well as the fact that after replenishing my energy, I cannot become any stronger."

"I know you're playing me, but you're right! Fine then, I'll spare the Earth until then. After I defeat you though, the Earth goes boom!" The ape laughed.

"What will happen to Citadel?" Bulla asked again.

"Citadel, I regret…" Stuka looked over to Roman and lied, "is over."

Vegetan flew over to the three of them, and pleaded immediately, "Bulla, I do not have much left in me, I need one of the senzu beans before Nach destroys the planet."

Bulla took out both of the beans, "Take both of them, one now, one later."

"No, I cannot beat Nach alone, he's too tough." Vegetan admitted. "He doesn't know that, the other bean has to go to the Tuffle. We have no choice."

Stuka admired that despite the fact they were opponents, that Vegetan trusted her as an integral component to defeating the greater evil. "So, while Nach is distracted, you'll chop off his tail."

"Exactly," Vegetan smiled, "You take him head on, and I attack the tail. Once he reverts to his base form, he will be easy to kill as long as the fusion holds up."

"I see." Stuka smiled, "You still plan on killing me one way or another."

"The funny thing is," Vegetan smirked, "I know you'll help me." He took off after chewing his bean.

"That crazy..." Stuka complained while chewing her senzu bean. The remains of her armor and jumpsuit were tattered and her hair was an uneven mess. Suddenly all of her wounds healed and she felt her energy return to her like an instant medical machine. "How… This power… Where did it come from?"

"That's the senzu bean," Bulla said in an unscientific matter, "it returns you back to normal."

"Roman, if I die." She spoke to her husband, "tell the remaining Saiyans of Citadel's cancellation. Everyone can return to their home world and live a happy life."

"But the universe…" Roman asked about Citadel, "will be better served by the peace of a revived Tuffle race."

"As long as I am no longer the most powerful," Stuka admitted, "there's no way to ensure the success of Citadel. If Vegeta and Gohan continue to live by the live and let die policy, we will have to wait." Stuka took off while Roman and Bulla were bewildered about Stuka's future plans.

Vegetan and Nach continued to fight toe to toe. The punches and kicks colliding caused seismic shifts, the unintentional damage to the Earth was astounding. Nach was about to launch a ki into the Earth to divert Vegetan's attention until he was hit by one of Stuka's dive bombs. "What?" Nach was surprised. "Oh I see, you wasted one your magic beans on the Tuffle. You know, I always thought she was rather beautiful for a Tuffle. I always envied my brother a little."

"Honestly homeboy, you're jealousy was always transparent." Stuka responded in disgust. While Vegetan was busy trying to think of a technique he could use to sever the tail, it was up to Stuka to keep Nach busy. She started to muster more power, with the electric Super Saiyan 2 Aura continuing to flow, all Nach could do was laugh at the sight. "Since you couldn't get what your brother had, you wasted your whole life trying to convince General Cori to go on a date. You were always jealous that she had a thing for my brother."

Apparently the ruse was working. Nach looked upset for a moment before fixing his expression, "What a tragedy. I asked her out one more time, before you know, killing her." Stuka's eye was twitching at the disgust of Nach's betrayal, "She never wanted to join my Protection Squadron anyway, she was always too busy trying to catch the eye of someone who did not have an eye on women to begin with."

"How curt," Stuka responded, "what do you mean? Oh, I know. You're just a pig."

"This plan is working too good," Vegetan whispered too himself, "I was hoping the Saiyan would take care of the Tuffle just a little bit. As far as I'm concerned neither of them are on our side. This will have to do though."

"So," Nach caught on, "It was great catching up, do you have any famous last words before I vaporize you?"

"I have two." Stuka smiled.

"Tell me, I'd say I'm dying to know but you're the only one who's dying!" Nach scoffed.

"Comet Launch!" Stuka then shot out forward with her head facing towards the Saiyan. She hit him right between the eyes before he could react. He flinched in pain while Stuka hit the ground unconscious and reverted to her base form.

"That hurt! You witch!" Nach was checking his forehead for swelling.

"Now's my cue," Vegetan realized that while the Tuffle may have lasted a little longer than expected, it still did not take too long for her to be defeated by the Saiyan. He had a clear shot at the tail, without a kienzan like attack to cut it off he had to settle for the next best thing. Vegetan took his index finger and middle finger off of his forehead and aimed it at the Saiyan's tail. "Special Beam Cannon!" It was a direct hit! As the Saiyan screamed in pain he quickly turned around.

"You!" Nach stressed, holding his tail that was bleeding and in pain.

"Darn, I failed to drill through the whole thing." Vegetan was thinking, "but it doesn't look like his tail has long the way he's holding it."

Nach's quickly reobtained his white aura, quickly beating Vegetan into submission. "It's not so fun when I fight at my full power!" He roared angrily. "Why am I wasting my time when I can simply destroy this planet!"

Vegetan, still energetic but in poor condition, still knew he could use his better techniques against him. "I'm down, but not out! Big Bang Attack!" The ball of ki exploded sending the Oozaru back. Vegetan flew back to Roman, and asked him a strange question for a fighter of his caliber, "Roman, give me the scouter reading. Now!"

Roman quickly complied, "He is still at least 25% stronger than you, but that tail does not have long. It will probably die in ten minutes."

"Good, I can outlast him." Vegetan smiled. "I think we can pull this one off."

"Don't do anything too stupid," Roman worried, both about the situation and what Vegetan would do if he told the truth, "You're hanging by a thread just like his tail."

Vegetan grimaced angrily before taking off back into battle. Vegetan's punches and kicks hurt the Oozaru, but one blow from the Oozaru sent Vegetan back a far distance, making him spit blood. In the meantime, Roman flew down to Stuka's body and zapped her back into consciousness. Stuka was rubbing the top of her swollen head, "Did I get brain damage?"

"You sound good enough, let's go." Roman took her hand.

"What's happening, I see he's still a Great Ape." Stuka tried to speak quickly, but was obviously still dizzy.

"His tail is in poor shape, but Vegeta and Gohan are also in poor shape. They will not last much longer. I say we go to our satellite and make our escape." Roman tried to convince her.

"No, I cannot let this monster live." Stuka rejected the notion.

"If we try to fight him we will surely not live." Roman asserted, "we have to get to the satellite and relocate. If both warriors fall we can still prepare for our next move."

Stuka tried to turn Super Saiyan 2 but failed, she only could muster a blue aura in her base form. "Our next movie is to make sure someone who has the power to destroy the universe like Nach does not live. Even with his power the way it is, this is our best opportunity to fight back. Otherwise we're only delaying the inevitable." Stuka tried to take off into flight but she quickly crashed into the ground. Bulla picked her up as Roman caught up with her. At this moment, Piccolo and the others came over and saw Vegetan do battle with the Great Ape. The casual ki beams they shot at each other were causing immense destruction.

"I can feel your power slipping," Vegetan taunted, with his clothes all but torn and his gashes bleeding profusely, "you're struggling to keep your tail alive. I can stay in this form for thirty minutes."

"Curse you!" Nach roared. "But I'm not out of tricks." Both of them exchanged powerful ki attacks before Nach started taking both his palms, closed together, and stretched out an incredibly large orange ring of ki. "Let me show you one of my brother's favorite attacks that he learned from our Uncle. He even taught that dirty Tuffle this!"

"Easy," Vegetan laughed, "I'll just evade it!"

"Try it, Kill Driver!" The large ring was too big to fly away from, as it reached Vegetan it shrunk in size rapidly and scored a direct hit launched both Saiyans into the ground, creating a huge crater that quickly filled with water.

"He's gone!" Stuka sensed.

"Daddy!" Bulla cried.

"No wait…" Roman's scouter came up with a reading, "the fused warrior may be gone but both Gohan and Vegeta are still alive. They are about to emerge out of the water."

"That's great. They can fuse again." Stuka reasoned.

"No!" Bulla clenched her fists, "they'll be unable to fuse for another hour!"

Suddenly the sky turned black as dark bio-electricty was flowing from Nach. All of the clouds disappeared from the sky. Only the warriors' immense power became the source of light. "He must be desperate; this does not look good." Stuka said while rubbing her head.

"Power up!" Roman yelled as his white aura flowed. Bulla turned Super Saiyan 5 and began powering up while Stuka was finally able to regain her Super Saiyan 2 form and began increasing her power.

Piccolo arrived with the other Z Warriors. "My gosh, that power's incredible. I could not fathom someone that powerful until now!"

Trunks instantly turned Super Saiyan 3, "This is it, go to your maximum power. It's going to end right here!"

Gohan, who was no longer blind after the fusion and being healed with the senzu bean, and Vegeta took to the ground and started powering up, the Z Warriors, the Tuffle, and the rogue Saiyan joined them in increasing their power. Krillin started to state the obvious, "Even with all of our power combined, we are not going to be able to stop him from destroying the Earth!"

"It's obvious," Tien's muscles were bulging, "He's hanging by a thread. We need to only hang on, and out last him."

"We may be in worse shape than he is!" Yamcha made the mood somber again.

"Pan," Gohan said while powering up alongside his daughter in her Super Saiyan 2 form, "I'm glad you're okay. I'm so sorry I was still training. I let you get hurt."

"I'm not a baby dad!" Pan smiled while maintaining her composure, "I know you did great out there. Let's finish the job!"

Lieutenant Nion looked at his fellow soldiers, seeing that they needed to give it everything they had against the Oozaru, "Now that the Arcosian is healing, we're going to finish what we started!"

"Did you receive an order from Colonel Roman?" Articho questioned, trembling from the power and from possibly disobeying orders.

"I'm sure he'd be appreciative if our boots are on the ground with him helping out. Keep an eye on the Arcosian for me." Nion smiled, then his face became serious, "Soldiers! Move out!"

As everyone was increasing their power, Master Roshi arrived on Nimbus, and jumped down before bulging into his buff form. "Master Roshi!" Krillin almost objected, "I thought you had to have a pure heart to ride on Nimbus."

"We were on our way over here as soon as we felt the huge powers over here!" Roshi laughed.

"What do you mean we?" Krillin tried to point out.

Turtle finally emerged out of his shell with two footprints on the top of it. "I'm getting too old for this!"

"Turtle!" Krillin screamed happily, "you came to help out too!"

Turtle sweated, "Matters what your definition of 'help' is!"

The Saiyan recruits, now without their tails, landed on the ground and all transformed to their pinnacle Super Saiyan forms. "I'm glad you're here!" Roman almost celebrated, "I don't have time to explain, but we're going to have to blast away this traitor."

"Yes sir!" Lieutenant Nion smiled.

"From here, they look like Christmas lights," Nach spoke as his hands started to glow, "when this planet explodes it's going to look like the fourth of July!" He put his hands together in front of his chest.

"Guys!" Gohan yelled at about a hundred of his allies, "It's going to end right here, right now! Every battle you fought, every time you struggled, every time you far exceeded your potential, every second you trained, the decades of surmounting our obstacles, it's for this very moment!"


	14. Chapter XIV: Midnight Hour

Chapter XIV: Midnight Hour

"Don't hold back!" Gohan continued to yell authoritatively, "Go all out. Use your very best technique!"

Piccolo raised his arms above his head and readied to fire, "Masenko…"

Tien made his two hands into a triangle, "Tribeam…"

Trunks extended both of his arms clasped his palms, "Final Flash…"

Bulla had one arm out longer than the other, "Super Gallic Gun…"

Roman and Stuka reached with both arms over their heads and behind their backs, "Calamity blaster…"

Vegeta extended both of his arms and clasped his palms, "Super Final Shine…"

Krillin, Pan, Goten, Gohan, Yamcha, and Master Roshi charged theirs in unison, "Ka… Me… Ha.. Me."

Earth's defending warriors and the Saiyan recruits readied their best attacks, and all yelled "Ha!", "Ho!", and "Fire!" as all of their waves combined into one giant beam. Nach started laughing as he seen all of this power heading straight towards him, "They think they can scare me! I can kill them all in a minute's time!" He extended his arms in front of his body, "Genocide Gun… Fire!" His wave almost completely engulfed his opponents'. The sight of incoming death was about as blinding as Tien's Solar Flare.

"I can't see a single thing!" Krillin complained.

"You don't need to!" 18 pointed out, "Don't let up, or everyone dies!"

"That power," Bulla was sweating, "it's maybe a hundred meters away from us."

"You're doing great Bulla," Vegeta smiled while doing most of the heavy lifting, "you're even stronger than you were in training."

"We're losing ground…" Roman announced, "if we don't stop the bleeding soon this whole planet's going up in smoke!"

At this point Beerus and Whis were contemplating joining in the fracas. "I know you want to," Whis pointed out gripping his staff with his other wrist, "you can't stand the thought of someone else destroying the universe for you."

"He can destroy this planet…" Beerus dismissed, "I've had nothing decent to eat that I haven't cooked myself in years!"

"His power!" Yamcha complained, "It's overwhelming!"

"Maybe this is about the only thing more difficult than moving a couch up a third floor walkup!" Goten jested while in his Super Saiyan 3 form.

"Why is it taking so long?" Nach complained. "I can't keep this tail alive much longer!"

"Prince Vegeta," Roman spoke to his former opponent, "I know you won't let up, but his tail has maybe five minutes left, we have maybe thirty seconds."

"Thirty seconds sure feels like an eternity during a great battle!" Vegeta admitted.

"If we have any other tricks, we need to pull them out of the hat now."

"Dad, I have an idea." Bulla barely gasped out while struggling to maintain her output, "If Freon's still conscious from space, he can use the Destructo Disc against the wounded tail!"

"I don't think he'll live if he gets out of the Medical Machine, but let's do it!" Vegeta encouraged her.

"Freon, Freon," Bulla spoke telepathically, making it exceedingly difficult to stand up straight while keeping up her Super Gallic Gun. She started to hunch and lean over. "Freon, are you okay?"

"Yes Bulla, I'm no longer bleeding but I can barely think straight." He spoke all the way from space telepathically. His opened eyes stunned Articho. "If I can convince the Saiyan to let me out…"

Yamcha was struggling severely, his muscles wobbled as he muttered, "…The power! I can't stand up!" He dropped to the ground, unable to continue. The Genocide Gun blast head even closer.

"I can feel the heat of the wave!" Trunks yelled as the blinding light of the ki wave moved ever closer.

"I'm sorry guys, I'm out." Krillin said as he fell over like Yamcha.

"I can feel you letting go!" Nach yelled at them. "Good good! I'd hate for you to die tired!" The Oozaru's muscles bulged one last time, "I'm tired of playing around, now it's time to put you all to rest."

The wave got closer and closer, and more and more of the Z Fighters were dropping out. Master Roshi and Chatzou could not last any longer, and while 18 and Tien valiantly continued though they were little help anyway.

"This it it!" Trunks yelled in pain, "I can feel the power burning my hands!" Suddenly the wave moved a great distance back as the ape howled so loud that it seemed like the whole continent could hear his pain.

"What's that?" Stuka yelled, not letting up her Calamity Blaster.

"It's Articho and the Arcosian! But, their power's so weak!" Roman then deduced what could be happening, "It must be the Kienzan! They're sneak attacking his tail!"

Articho's hands were on the decapitated Arcosian's shoulder as he continued to transfer his energy into him. Their best card was to try to chop his tail off. However, Nach was so strong all the Kienzan can do was cut away slowly. "Bulla!" Freon yelled telepathically at her in frustration, "I cannot chop off the tail! Maybe the tail will die faster but unless everyone can dig deeper it will be no use!"

"You scoundrels!" Nach yelled as he used his telekinesis to fling Freon and Articho away a long distance. The two tried to approach again but to no avail, the element of surprise was over. However, The Oozaru was weakened severely, as the beam struggle now approached parity.

"The giant monkey!" Goten observed, "He's starting to slip!"

"I'm surprised!" Stuka spoke, "That punk has the ability to destroy the whole universe in one shot, maybe he has a good bone left in his body after all."

"What do you mean Tuffle!" Vegeta screamed at her, worrying that the worst was yet to come.

"Nach's best technique…" She struggled to speak as she was using her energy to try to combat the Genocide Gun. "It's self-destructive in nature, but he used it in training against Zerstorer. He was able to achieve many Zenkais with it."

"What is that?" 18 responded casually as she was easily able to keep the same intensity with her wave of ki.

"The point of the Saiyan getting closer to death, if he manages to recover or heal will become substantially stronger. It's basic Saiyan training to us." Stuka pointed out. "However in his condition, if he digs deep down and uses his best technique he'll surely die, and take us down with him."

"…And every living thing in the universe!" Trunks pointed out angrily as Vegeta took a quick glance at them, listening to the conversation.

"Yes." Stuka said solemnly.

"We have nothing to worry about!" Pan said cockily as now Earth's defenders were gaining the upper hand, "we're starting to win this thing!"

"She may be right," Roman agreed after seeing a scouter reading, "his seconds are now numbered."

Nach's fury was building despite the fact the strength to tap into his rage has long expired. His body, now failing him, and his tail dying made him feel like a cornered animal. "I will not die with such dishonor!" He thought to himself, "If I cannot rule this universe and everything in it, then everything in it will die!" Suddenly his body turned gray until the point it shined like silver. He started to yell at the top of his lungs, it seemed like the whole universe heard what he spoke, "Today! Today you will remember for the rest of your existence! Today will be the last day in history! Today will be the day that everyone dies! Today will be the day that everything is existence will cease!"

"That can't be good," Krillin pointed out, only getting dirty looks from anyone who bothered to listen to what he said.

Nach's entire body glowed with ki and bolts of bio-electricity jumped out causing great destruction as this great power was impossible to control. A giant ball of energy surrounded his entire body. Somehow, the volume of his voice increased, "Holocaust Cannon! Fire!" Out of the ball of energy, a huge wave engulfed both what was the Genocide Gun then what was left of Earth's leeway.

Freon desperately used the rest of his energy launch Kienzans in close range at the Saiyan's tail, now hanging by a thread. The huge ball of energy surrounding his body was strong enough to have the Destructo Discs bounce harmlessly off. "I cannot even scratch him," Freon cried, "This is it."

Goten's energy finally expired, causing him to fall. Pan followed suit shortly afterwards. Roman was now struggling to continue, "There's nothing I can do! I can't stop the universe from ending!" He screamed with what seemed like his last breath.

Bulla's hair started flickering out, she was about to revert to her base form and faint. "Daddy," she cried, "I'm so sorry. I wish, I wish I could do something…" Stuka watched as Vegeta's face seemed to grow more serious, like every moment in his life was flashing before his eyes. "Daddy… Speak to me…" She pleaded.

"Vegeta…" Gohan said, doing his best to maintain the intensity of his Kamehameha. "It's strange, it's like he's not worried." Then Gohan hung his head down, with his hair obscuring the view of the tears now dropping from his eyes, "I now see what he's doing."

At the Capsule Corporation Headquarters, Bulma was wiping away her tears, she looked into the eerie glow in the horizon, where the showdown for the Universe was unfolding. She spoke simple words, "Bulla… I told you that your father would surmount this."

Beerus and Whis now appeared behind Nach.. Who turned his head angrily towards them, "Who in the cosmos are you?"

"I'd hate to be impolite and skip the introduction," Beerus responded, "believe me, this is simply business." The both of them shot their strong ki wave attacks at the glowing ball, slightly reducing the intensity of the Holocaust Cannon.

Vegeta was thinking about his whole life: The stories his father used to tell him, his great accomplishments for Frieza during his teenage years, his epic struggle with Kakarot, his revenge on Frieza while in his first form, destroying Andoid 19 and embarrassing Semi-Perfect Cell, the moment he realized his love for his son Trunks as he saw Super Perfect Cell reduce him to a lifeless body, his Final Explosion against Majin Buu and his struggle against his pure form, the birth of his daughter Bulla, the day he spent without Bulla as he drove her to Nursery School, his epic Super Saiyan 4 transformation against Omega Shenron, watching his son finally emulate him and defeat Verclere the lord of the gods of destruction, then finally the day that Bulla got accepted in the world's most exclusive doctorate program. Vegeta could not cry, in fact he seemed to stand taller. It even looked like he was standing triumphantly, "Bulla," Vegeta finally spoke telepathically to his daughter with a smile on his face, "if I have only one regret in my whole life, it's that I can't walk you down the aisle…"

"Vegeta!" Stuka screamed, "No!" Finally, Vegeta's body became pure white light, as suddenly the Super Final Shine attack seemed to cut straight through the Holocaust Cannon, through Nach's body and through his tail. Nach screamed helplessly as his body began to shrink rapidly and the energy of Earth's defenders continued to engulf him.

"Don't let up!" Tien yelled, "If his energy remains this whole universe will end!"

The last moments of Nach's life as he was disintegrating were not of regret, but how he was so close to the revival of his vicious pure-Saiyan race. He thought about his enslavement from the Tuffles, to his everyday life in Saiyan society before living out the last of his days in enslavement from Frieza, Stuka, and Zerstorer. "Impossible…" Nach cried, "If I could only ever find the dragon balls here on Earth… How things would have turned out differently." The beast finally disintegrated into dust. Day and night finally returned to normal on Earth. Trunks and Roman collapsed from their exhaustion while Bulla only could remain kneeling to cry as not even Vegeta's body remained.

"The legendary Super Saiyan…" Bulma spoke, looking into the sky and its purple sunset, "was so powerful, that his own power destroyed him. King Vegeta… He was on the mark all along that it was Vegeta who would prove to finally be the Saiyan of legends!" Bulma seemed so proud of him, it almost did not dawn on her that the Prince of All Saiyans had perished.

Stuka, at this point wearing tatters, walked over to Bulla to comfort her before Gohan violently grabbed her wrist, "It's not over yet!" He yelled, "The monster who engineered this whole thing is standing in front of us!" Oddly, at least to the Tuffle, no one even disagreed with Gohan. Their memories were not as short as she expected them to be. Stuka began to tremble as it seemed like Kakarot's son was the only one aside from the Android that had a shred of energy left to fight. "Once you die, this is finally all over."

Tien nodded as Krillin and Yamcha simply glared angrily at the Tuffle. Stuka was shaking because she had no chance of continuing, it was truly the end of the line for her. "Roman… My husband." She stated, "What will happen to him?"

"The Saiyan is a work in progress!" Gohan responded authoritatively, "You on the other hand are pure evil. A vile snake that has laid her eggs on this Earth for them to only be snuffed. Not for a moment will I forget the suffering you subjected my daughter to! Not to mention your plans for every living thing in this universe! In short, your husband lives, you die!"

"Well then," Stuka opened her palms and spread out her arms, "then it is finished. Please don't make it as painful as you were planning to do before."

"Don't worry, it'll be quick," Gohan said, "I'm tired of your voice anyway."

Before Gohan could blow away the Tuffle, Bulla spoke up, "Stop! The Tuffle lives."

"Bulla! You're crazy!" Gohan objected, "You're surely not feeling well. The exhaustion will settlie in after a few more moments."

"I get it, I finally get why Goku shown so much mercy." Bulla came to an epiphany.

Gohan looked back at her skeptically, "I did not know him well, but why would he show mercy to the woman who planned to conquer the universe?"

"Why would he?" The Tuffle wondered out loud, apparently mercy was alien to her too.

"The difference between Goku, and the rest of the Saiyans is that he wants to give anyone a chance to change. He saw the good in everyone, and everything. Now, that he's gone, and my father's gone, we're who's left to carry on the legacy."

Gohan still objected, "You're nuts! Majuub would've surely turned them all to chocolate!"

"Tell me this…" Bulla pointed out, "Why was she the only one who tried to stop Vegeta from sacrificing himself?"

While every conscious Z Fighter pondered that fact, Gohan remained headstrong, "If she did so what? What we had here was a temporary arrangement, a deal with the—"

"Gohan…" Piccolo pointed out, "As much as I would love to see that Tuffle put out of her misery, I could tell you one thing. She was almost as powerful as Vegeta. She wishes it could've been her in his place. Without her none of us survive."

"Mr. Piccolo…" Gohan trembled, "No…"

"Gohan," Piccolo pointed out, "you are forgetting one thing. As long as the Tuffle is alive, we'll train to become stronger. To be ready for what happens next, whatever it is."

"Dr. Nita Phillips…" Bulla spoke to her confidently, "You, and the Saiyans could leave. You all know what not to do. Try to get Freon better for me. Please… This is farewell."

It was the first time Bulla spoke to Stuka as a peer. Being battered, bruised, and stripped of her dignity, all she could do was respond with a nod. She picked up Roman's body and gestured to the Saiyan recruits. All of them took to the sky and flew away. Gohan gave Bulla a grave look as the wind blew his hair. His eyes still had the spark of intensity, as if he was still prepared for battle. "You've made a huge mistake, like your father would have. He spoke a lot about fighting with no mercy, but Vegeta's track record was always letting his opponents go and get stronger, usually to his peril." Bulla simply stared him down until the point Gohan lifted up Pan and flew away himself.

At this point, the remainder of the Z Warriors were becoming conscious again. Whis and Beerus approached Bulla and Trunks, since Vegeta was now dead there was little reason for them to remain in bondage. "Well Ms. Bulla Briefs," Beerus spoke regally for the first time in a long time it seemed like, "this seems to be the end of our arrangement."

"You're help…" Trunks admitted, "We couldn't have done it without you!"

"I'm going to miss having you two help at the greenhouse!" Bulla smiled, "I know my father made you do it, but we had good times there together!"

"I know, but being a god of destruction isn't easy, I have a lot of work to do, and…" he yawned as he realized how much he truly had to do, "a lot of sleep to catch up on."

Whis smiled as the both of them started to float in the air to leave, "It was too close to call, I wish I had the opportunity to turn back time to help Vegeta, but…"

"Yeah, what about your ability to turn back time?" Trunks pointed out, almost irked.

"Well, you know when Lord Beerus says 'You can say that again?'"

"Yeah!" Trunks laughed, "He always says it twice! I love that!" Trunks then realized this was the reason the ability could not be used in battle, "Oh…"

"Well, this is farewell. it was a pleasure working for you… For Lord I mean your father Vegeta… Not as much!" The both of them seemed to disappear like a bolt of lightning.

"You can say that again!" They heard Beerus echo happily.

"Not now, I can't do it." Whis pointed out, echoing.

"Oh…" Beerus echoed disappointedly.

"Bulla…" Freon spoke to Bulla telepathically, "The Saiyans got me back on the ship. Once I get better, I will return home to be as good as new."

"We still have to take you up on your father's offer and drop by!" Bulla remembered.

"You will get to see my 'cool', as you Earthlings say, new Cyborg body!" Freon chuckled, "I'll be back!"

As the sun set for the day, the Z-Fighters slept comfortably, even with Goku and Vegeta deceased. They finally achieved the power to protect the Earth from her greatest threats. With this painful lesson in tow, Tien, Yamcha, Krillin, and the others finally called it quits and focused simply on their retirement. The Saiyan recruits were permitted to return to their homes, however with their Tuffle blood flowing through their veins, they continued to be loyal to their Master Stuka, and made their home in the Satellite orbiting the Earth. In the meantime, Stuka and Roman finally entered their home in civilian clothing. It was a condominium in a tall sky-scraper with tall windows.

"Home sweet home!" Roman celebrated, "it's good to be back! And not mask your power level! I see you've kept this place clean the entire time."

"My mother taught me how to clean a house, alter DNA, and make machinery among other things." Stuka pointed out putting down a small bag of groceries.

Roman opened the refrigerator, noticing there were only condiments. "Eating out I see."

"I was so busy with Citadel and my profession I had little time to cook, that's what you do best." Stuka responded almost defensively.

"Well, we can have the raw vegan diet tonight! I just want to sit down and relax for once!" Roman laughed playfully as he leaped onto the couch as Stuka put away the food. Stuka sat down next to him, with almost a purposeless expression on her face. She was obviously thinking about where to go from here. "You're thinking about regrouping already? Sit down, relax, have a drink!" Roman continued to act playfully, maybe a part of him was relieved after the operation failed as they no longer had to live with the same intensity. "Kiki, what are you thinking of doing next?"

Without much thought, now that her life's objectives for all intents and purposes was over, only could respond with one option, "I don't know. Let's see what's on TV." As she pointed her phone towards the unit.


	15. Chapter XV: Cheating Death

Chapter XV: Cheating Death

"Why is the something blue part so easy?" Bulla wondered out loud to her mother while feeling the volume of her hair while wearing her wedding dress, "It must be the Briefs biology I suppose."

Bulma, who did not look aged, but somehow visibly older in appearance teared up as she looked at her daughter, "You look so much more beautiful than I imagined. You looked more beautiful than I did on my wedding day."

Bulla laughed, "What did Daddy and you wear to the court house?"

"Go to the court house?" Bulma laughed, "Only a peon would go to the court house! We had the justice come to us. Vegeta was wearing bunny slippers during our oaths and signed our papers."

"Why didn't you have a huge reception at a later date?" Bulla wondered.

"At that point everyone assumed we were already married anyway, and Vegeta did not want to invite a single person that he knew anyway. Imagine bringing back Frieza and the Ginyu force to my wedding!"

"Well, Fridge and Freon are the next best thing! I think they gave Alphonse and I a small planet or something."

"…And all I got was this shirt!" Bulma handed over Bulla a small old dingy sleeveless t-shirt that said, "Planet Trade Organization: Saiyan Squadron."

"Something old!" Bulla laughed, "Smells like…" As Bulma expected her daughter to mention Vegeta as she held his old undershirt. She simply grinned and said, "Defeat!"

As guests poured into the wedding, a man and woman asked which side to be seated on until he took a look at the two vastly different sides. He guided his partner to the side without aliens, gods, and muscled up martial artists. "I want to get to the part with the food in it," Roman whined while wearing a black suit and a dark blue tie, obviously looking uncomfortable in it.

Stuka, wearing a dark blue dress with her hair now permed with extensions reaching the middle of her back, used her right palm to keep Roman down, trying to force him to be calm while speaking in a vexed voice, "We don't get to the h'ors dourves until after the ceremony begins. Just do what everyone else is doing and don't embarrass us."

"H'ors dourves?" Roman figured, "They should just call it 'food before the meal.'"

Beerus was sitting in an aisle seat as other guests continued to bump into him. "How disrespectful!" He complained to Whis, "Do they know who they're bumping into?"

"Calm down Lord," Whis brought up while calmly sitting next to him, "This is hardly something worth missing the h'ors dourves for."

"I'm hardly looking forward to it," Beerus complained. "You and I, we were a team! These caterers do not know the first thing about food. You see, when I snuck into the wedding shower I couldn't believe how deficient the tastes were. It doesn't take a god to know how to properly season food."

"Maybe it does Lord Beerus." Whis smiled.

"We used to make meals for 500 people in minutes," Beerus reminisced, "and figure out how to make it look like we were working during the other five hours. That was a job in itself."

In hell, Piccolo was hosting an art gallery for all the villains who were stuck there to simply keep the peace. Piccolo looked at a disturbing piece with a bunch of mutilated stinger tails tied together. "A bunch of ripped off tails isn't art." Piccolo complained while sipping on champagne.

"Art is something that your not so perfect mind does not understand," Cell pleaded while wearing a Tuxedo with wings poking out of the back, "You see, the dried blood and look of the shriveled tails is symbolic of the human condition. The fear, the horror, the mystery…"

Frieza who was in his Sunday's Best, rather his shiny birthday suit looked over Cell's work. "I am a patron of the arts!" Frieza ballyhooed, "You see, I was educated at the universe's most elite schools, and I do even have an appreciation for this amateur work. You see, every great artist begins somewhere, and even his or her first works will then gain significantly in value." Frieza then looked over at what he felt was the far superior to Cell's. "'Agony' is the finest work I see in the gallery."

"It's just some stoned Saiyan!" Cell spat back jealously.

"It is so much more than that!" Frieza continued to show how impressed he was while looking at a stone statue of Nach, with has tail severed off, stuck in an uncomfortable gaze while in stone, "Mr. 'D. Bura' was able to capture that priceless look on a man's face when he knows it's over, the jig is up, and that the end is coming at the following moment. The look of agony, the look of failure, the look that it is all over." Frieza somehow was able to take out money, "Mr. D. Bura, I see you have visited from heaven to bring your art to the gallery, how did you make this fine piece?"

Dabura who was standing next to Goku wearing a suit laughed, "All it took was a little bit of spit and a little hard work."

"You see Cell," Frieza tried to instruct him, "the great artists make their works simply. It's a thing of beauty."

"Don't forget!" Goku laughed with his arm around Dabura, "I helped you make it!"

"Goku, I would love to know how you contributed to this work." Frieza asked seriously.

"Well… Uh…" Goku was thinking about the fact that he held the subject down.

"Goku here helped me with the visual concept…" Dabura spoke cryptically.

General Cori was wearing a black dress and high heels, somehow her hair was just grazing the ground, "Kakarot, I'm sure the model enjoyed the experience." She sipped on her wine.

"No, not exactly," King Cold hovered over her and corrected her, "You see I once had to sit still for nine hours when someone was making a bust of my face and there was a rebellion occurring and—"

Piccolo suddenly realized he was missing Bulla's wedding, "Goku, we have to go! Right now! Something's happening on Earth!"

"It can't be so bad that they can't take care of it without me." Goku laughed

"You're ingmissay you're god-daughter's ingweday!" Piccolo looked at Goku angrily.

"Missing wedding?" Goku panicked as he understood the pig latin. "Luckily I have my instant transmission. Raditz, you're in charge!"

"Sure thing brother!" Raditz responded wearing his suit while everyone groaned in disgust.

"Were you the model?" Frieza wondered aloud to Raditz.

"No," Raditz laughed looking at his uncle stuck in stone. "But my work needed no models, it is simply the display of primitive man…"

Goku appeared right next to the other's wedding party's patrons who screamed in shock as he appeared out of thin air. Goku then clumsily pushed through a row people instead of walking around the aisles, "Sorry, excuse me, pardon me sir…" He then took a seat next to a geriatric Pilaf gang. "Hey, Pilaf, Mai, and you…" He said as he forgot the dog's name was Shu, "What's shakin'?"

Pilaf spoke like an old man, "Isn't your wife sitting three rows ahead of me? Would you like to sit next to her?"

As Chi Chi got up Goku shown no interest in moving his seat, "No, I just wanted to catch up with you guys."

"The world's not the same without any dragon balls left." Pilaf spoke with remorse, "I could only take over the world if I had political clout, a lot of money, and connections with the media. I truly believe this is not a world I want to take over anymore."

"I feel the same way too sometimes." Goku smiled trying to sound agreeable with his former nemesis before his wife approached him, "Oh, hey Chi Chi."

"You arrived two hours late!" Chi Chi yelled at him while the other wedding guests stared at the uncouth display. "I never watched anyone who knew how to teleport instantly to take so long to get somewhere or be unable to visit home!"

"I was really busy helping Piccolo with the art gallery!" Goku complained defensively. Suddenly he got up and saw another man who looked to be about his height and had his hair style. Before Chi Chi could slap him, (her palm went through the air and slapped Shu,) he appeared between Stuka and Roman.

Stuka was shocked as she looked at Goku's halo, "Kakarot! But you're dead!"

"Eh…" Goku complained, "It's no biggie!"

"My nephew!" Roman stood up and hugged him, "The most legendary Saiyan of all time! I'm glad to finally meet you!"

"I don't know about you…" Goku laughed, "But I'm looking forward to the 'food before the meal.'" Both of their stomachs rumbled. As the music started to play, Roman and Goku were catching up as the groom's wedding party started to enter one by one. They rudely continued, "You married a Tuffle? She's a knock out! I thought the Saiyans killed all of them!"

"I know! We met all the way back in Planet Plant! Then we had to serve Frieza!" Roman responded excitedly.

"What was it like working for him?" Goku continued to almost interrupt the scene with his uncle. "What was my father like?"

"Bardock… My brother." Roman reminisced, "He was such a happy and care-free soul before I made my escape. Once Frieza conscripted him, he became vicious for good. Saiyan if you will I guess. A part of him never forgot who we was, no matter what he always loved Nach and I. We used to do everything together. He also loved your mother, Gine, despite being an active on the scene if you know what I mean."

"How about you?" Goku commented while pointing out the Tuffle.

"You see, if I thought about another woman I would be sent to another dimension!" Roman laughed nervously with his eyes closed.

"That heffa would be going with you!" Stuka closed her eyes and crossed her arms and agreed.

At this point the bride's wedding party started walking down the aisle. Behind the scenes, Trunks and Bulla were waiting. "Don't let your makeup run!" Trunks instructed her, as he would now walk down his sister. "Don't forget how many hours it took her to apply it!"

"I know you miss daddy too," Bulla pointed out, "I know he'd do anything to be here."

During this, Piccolo took a seat next to Gohan, Videl, Majuub, and Kinuwa. "Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan whispered happily, "You made it! Who's running hell whIle you're here?"

"Your uncle, remember him?" Piccolo chuckled.

"Wow… Nice." Gohan laughed.

"Shhh…" Videl interrupted while recording the wedding with her phone. "The bride is going to come out next!" For some reason, the music was not changing, and there was no bride. "What could the delay be?"

"It's time…" Trunks smiled at his sister. Bulla smiled back at him, she knew that things were difficult for the both of them, but Vegeta would want them to be happy after all.

"It's not time yet!" Vegeta stepped in wearing a tuxedo and a new halo.

"Dad!" Trunks' jaw dropped, "Am I seeing a ghost?"

"Kind of." Vegeta admitted.

"I can't believe it!" Trunks was about to jump for joy until Vegeta extended his hand to his daughter. Bulla probably had to use her powers to hold back her tears. She did not care about the laws of life and death being broken here. As the music changed to 'Here Comes the Bride,' the Z Fighters stood up stunned as they saw Vegeta walk his daughter down the aisle. Both of them cried as Vegeta was able to give his daughter to her husband. Pan took a few steps over in her bridesmaid dress and handed them a handkerchief. After the wedding party shook everyone's hands and the reception began, Vegeta and Goku took Bulla aside with Beerus and Whis.

"This is truly the happiest day of my life," Bulla said appreciatively as she hugged each one of them. "What are you here to tell me?"

"As much as I hate to say it," Vegeta almost complained, "but there are big things occurring right now in the universe, maybe more than the universe itself. The gods have requested to speak with Kakarot and I. I don't think this will concern Earth, but sadly both of us are the men for the job."

Bulla's reaction surprised everybody as she simply nodded and spoke, "To just see you again for that one moment daddy, I will remember for the rest of my life. One way or another, you'll always be with me."

"I always will." Vegeta and Bulla hugged once again.

"We have to go!" Whis tried to hurry the process along, "time is of the essence!" All four of them then faded away in front of Bulla, who came back out to greet tables with her husband.

Whis and Beerus allowed Goku and Vegeta to appear in a large white room with pillars, in there only the Supreme Kai of Time appeared. Being maybe fourth feet tall with her high heels on, her face looked sullen and defeated. Goku became serious, and reacted as if they already met before. "Something must be seriously wrong."

"What could be wrong that we're summoned from the grave?" Vegeta responded still in his wedding tuxedo.

The Supreme Kai of Time spoke, "I summoned the both of you here today—"

"Something happened in the past, future, or some universe and you need our help." Vegeta responded almost sarcastically, "Which one is it? Save us the sob story."

The Kai was insulted while she looked over to Beerus and Whis, who seemed to indicate that not even they could strike fear into Vegeta. "Well, I can spare you the story," the Kai said while holding back her anger, "but they won't."

Suddenly a time-portal appeared with smoke spilling out of it. All Goku and Vegeta could see were the silhouettes of two mysterious figures. Suddenly when Vegeta saw the sword, he knew exactly who it was. It was the Trunks, with his hair inexplicably being lilac again, who slayed Frieza so long ago, now he was back, but for what reason? "Trunks, why are you here… With him?" Vegeta wondered

Out of the smoke a much taller person appeared, it was actually Zerstorer, though he appeared to be dressed much differently and was less menacing. Vegeta immediately powered up with a white aura and lunged before Goku grabbed him, "He's on our side!"

"No Kakarot!" Vegeta tried to explain, "That's one of those vile Tuffles who almost destroyed the Earth, and tried to take over the universe!"

"Prince Vegeta," Zerstorer addressed the Saiyan almost respectfully, "I haven't tried to do anything to the universe in over thirty years."

"Poppycock! You and your stupid sister were trying to kill Kakarot's son months ago!" Vegeta yelled.

Zerstorer instantly powered up into Super Saiyan 2, apparently this was not going well for the Kai, "My 'stupid' sister was killed by the Androids about thirty years ago!"

"Wait… What?" Vegeta powered down and questioned

"Father," Future Trunks explained, "I don't know what the Tuffles did in your time, but without his help I would have never been freed of Baby."

"What? Him?" Vegeta was skeptical.

"Yes, me." Zerstorer snapped back at Vegeta, "I didn't retreat and hide when the Tuffle King returned as that Machine Mutant Baby! While he was conquering the Earth, Mr. Popo shown me to the Room of Spirit and Time. I finally fought the Tuffle King, for that sick beast possessed your son Trunks, and despite the odds came out of top with my Revenge Deathball! Honestly, I wanted to consummate my revenge by finishing off your son, but I realized we were the only two capable of protecting the universe. At that point I expelled the evil that had possessed my heart for almost eighty years."

"Even if you are our ally," Vegeta asked the obvious question, "Why are you here?"

"Father," Trunks spoke solemnly, "I didn't think it was possible for things to get worse from where I came from, but an opponent we were not even prepared for appeared."

"Who?" Vegeta laughed, "Beerus? Verclere? Android 17 came back?"

"Very funny." Trunks brushed off the insults.

"Who was it?" Goku inquired with a fierce expression, "And are they coming here?"

"That's the issue…" The Kai spoke up once again, "They are coming everywhere. Every time, every dimension, in the future and the past. Your universe Son Goku, the universe where your family and friends live is the last free plane of time and space left in existence."

"What? No way!" Goku started sweating with fear as his jaw dropped. "You mean the future and the past, have been conquered?"

"Yes, and each fabric of their time and their alternate multiverses." The Kai trembled, "They're all gone."

"Who?" Goku started becoming fiercely angry, "Who could do such a thing?"

"Where we come from," Future Trunks explained, "the demon is known as Fourdee. Even after being taught Metamorphese fusion from the gods, we were no match for him. He even explained that he was a mere peon compared to who he worked for. The Supreme Kai of Time gave us an opportunity to escape, we knew it was no use to continue."

"We have become much more powerful in our time," Vegeta protested, "I'm sure forty or whatever his name is wouldn't be able to lay a scratch on me."

"Your universe's immense powers is why it has not been a target for conquest yet." The Kai explained, "but that gap, between the low level conquerers and you is closing quickly."

"Low-level conquerors? I demand a word with their supervisor!" Vegeta joked.

"I sensed your power during your fight with the Saiyan Nach." The Kai informed Vegeta, "you are nowhere in the same league."

"I found that strange," Zerstorer brought up in ignorance, "in your universe Nach was such a powerful and evil force. While I knew him, he was a good soldier before the androids got to him."

"Just because you weaklings are having trouble with him doesn't mean I will," Vegeta became furious, "bring me to him and I'll make fools out of you quickly. Whatever his name is."

"Yeah," Goku chimed in, now becoming intrigued, "What is his name?"

"I remember when he was known as Mouse the god of peace. But he changed over time, as the whole of existence was consistently evil, and he was too weak to do anything about it." The Supreme Kai started to tremble, "as he continued to bottle up the evil inside him, he refused to expel it in order to protect the multiverse from the powerful evil force locked inside his weak body. However, the longer the evil was inside him, the exponentially more powerful it became. It only did not break free because the god of peace's suppression of his feelings only made the force grow stronger. Then the day happened when Mouse involuntarily transformed, to whatever he or she is now."

"So Mouse… That's what he's called?" Goku scratched his head and laughed, "I better go get the traps and the bait!"

"...And the peanut butter!" Vegeta chimed in.

"Very funny Goku," the Kai disapproved, "but he is no longer Mouse now. He now controls all creation and destruction, all life and death in every plane of existence except yours."

"If he isn't called 'mouse,' then who in the world is he?" Vegeta protested.

"He simply calls himself one name, 'god.'"


	16. Citadel: Genesis

Citadel: Genesis

King Vegeta looked at his grandfather after the Saiyans' final victory over the Tuffles. The Saiyan flag was raised in Tuffle City, symbolizing the end to a conflict that cost the lives of millions. The Patriarch looked sadly as he saw his fellow Saiyan kin marching off tens of thousands of Tuffle men, women, and boys. It was no secret that potential opponents to the now legitimate Saiyan regime would be sent to the gulags never to return. King Vegeta and his henchmen were surprised when they saw the father of the Saiyan revolution clearly unhappy. No one dared to speak, each and every Vegeta had a temper exceeding their amazing power.

"Grandfather, it was always meant to end this way." King Vegeta finally broke his silence. The palpability of the room still did not lessen, as the Patriarch continued to look at the Tuffles march on as they were already dead. "This is everything you dreamed of. You have educated my father, myself, and the great Saiyan race of the Revolution. The Tuffle King, his fascist thugs, and the regime are all destroyed. With our Tuffle opponents out of the way, our people can finally live in peace."

The Patriarch remained silent. Zorn, a low level advisor with a clue knew the Father of the Revolution needed to speak behind closed doors. "We'll bid you two your privacy." As the Patriarch tacitly agreed, all of the Saiyans left the room except Wespe, who was known as the brains behind the now organized Saiyan regime, left quietly.

Wespe was skinny, yet tall. He had an unlikely Saiyan physique and a level of intellect and cunning not commonly found in the warrior race. His black hair has mostly greyed, and he was likely older than King Vegeta's grandfather, "My king, do you wish for all of us to leave before we determine how to safely consolidate control of the city?"

King Vegeta knew both his grandfather and his Prefect vied for his attention. He knew Wespe was all business, but the matter was purely personal with his grandfather. "You could start creating local governments to administer the will of the Saiyan race upon the Tuffles. We have to stabilize our relationship with our Planet Trade allies and further eradicate the will of the Tuffles, we have to start to reap the fruits of the harvest rather than continuing the great costs of this war. I will approve what you set in motion Wespe, but I do need a moment with my grandfather."

"As you wish great king." Wespe hissed, obviously the plans were of revenge, enslaving and killing more Tuffles in the name of stability.

Now that King Vegeta's cronies left the room the Patriarch finally spoke up. He had his grandson's immense height, though he was less muscular and more stocky now. His hair, most of it in tact with its widow's peak, almost looked maroon despite the salt and pepper strands throughout. "We have now traded one form of slavery for another." The still imposing Saiyan spoke fearlessly to his grandchild. "We now so sorely depend on our Arcosian lenders I'm sure Saiyans will be repaying the debt with their blood, sweat, and tears for generations to come."

"It won't be Saiyans repaying the debt but our Tuffles captives." King Vegeta retorted.

"That's wishful thinking as a male Tuffle barely lasts a month in captivity, they have nothing to offer a Saiyan unlike their female counterparts who dilute our so called pure race." The Tuffles themselves could hardly prove profitable to the Saiyan regime.

King Vegeta crossed his arms disappointingly as his life's work seemed thankless. "You know my rule over our people is tenuous, few people like us and Wespe understand the concept of government, law, and order. If it were not for our common enemy, the Tuffles, we'd be fighting each other. I have to worry about how many divisions we'll hire out to the Planet Trade before we inevitably turn on ourselves. You may have built a revolution, but I have to build a nation. Nations need more than ideals to survive. I have to make the difficult decisions to keep the Saiyan race strong."

"Not only the Tuffles have to capitulate to your will, but so do our people." The Patriarch expressed disappointedly.

"It's not easy uniting all of the different Saiyan clans under one banner, to keep the Saiyan race strong means they must be united at all costs." King Vegeta pointed out pragmatically.

"My dream was to have a free Saiyan people, and tracts of land for us to provide for ourselves, and of course fight for mates."

"Freedom isn't free," King Vegeta countered, "the costs are extraordinary. Us Saiyans cannot be free as long as the Tuffles live. Their regime ideologically pursued 'one planet, one race, one Tuffle people.' A Saiyan's destiny was to be enslaved or exterminated."

"The objective of the Revolution was to end the Regime," the Patriarch roared, "not the Tuffle people."

"The Revolution evolved over time as it was clear the Regime could not be put to an end without putting the Tuffles, virtually all one race fanatics, to an end." King Vegeta felt he was not simply a mindless killer, he justified the Saiyans' actions in one phrase, "The ends justify the means."

"I have long taught you and your father the ideals of the Revolution, how every Saiyan deserved their fair share," the Patriarch started to narrate, "but never how it began."

Sure, I had earlier memories, but my most poignant memory of my youth was catching a glimpse of the television screen with my masters. My living arrangements were interesting to say the least. I considered my family intellectual liberals; capitalists if you will. Instead of motivating their Saiyan roster of slaves on fear alone, they set shifts, holidays, and incentives for us to work harder. Keeping us strong and happy made us more productive, and our Tuffle masters' fields more profitable. I was finished helping with the harvest as I was listening to the television while bringing in milled grains. I did not know how to speak the Tuffle, now Saiyan, language yet but I have long understood it. I watched the great Master, the Tuffle King, speak to the Tuffle people with one of his rhetoric diatribes. He looked more considerably aged than usual, as he was filmed at a further distance than we were used to seeing him. Somehow his appearance became rejuvenated shortly afterwards. Whenever he spoke, every Tuffle listened, I listened too.

"On Planet Plant… We are...One planet… One race… One Tuffle people! United under one culture, one objective of purity, obedience to the god who provides peace and prosperity—"

"Father," a little boy I loved name Range asked, "if we are one race why is the general next to the king and his advisors brown skinned?" He had straight brown hair to his ear with a bowl cut.

The little boy's father was fixing his black uniform, he was skinny yet relatively imposing, and putting on his black skull and crossbones Protection Squadron hat to cover his orange buzz cut, his collar had the angular "PS" logo on each side. He responded to his son in a sophisticated way, somehow everything he said did not go over his head, "One race and one people is an ideal, a goal never truly accomplished if you will. Long in the past society was dangerous, and the purges and great society programs removed a lot of brown skinned and taller Tuffles from public life. However, those who were productive to the Regime continued to live on and have families who worship the King. I work with a diverse crowd every day though racial purity and blood line verifications is necessary for membership in the Protection Squadron."

His teenage daughter Jarene, who had her yellow hair in a french braid, joked with her father, "It must have been awe inspiring being near the king when he made his speech! But if he's omnipotent how come he needs you to protect him!"

He laughed as the question was not considered subversive but absurd, "The king can do anything, but we the king's bodyguard at the Protection Squadron are the king's instrument of keeping society safe at large."

I remember listening to them worship the King, and not even know how ill their society was. One thing most Saiyans forget is that the Tuffles were not robots, and do demonstrate free will of what they find wrong and right. Their inherent values and virtues are simply different than ours, they were simply miseducated. I knew first hand as slowly, I started spending more and more time with Range.

"Do you like working?" Range asked me innocently. I nodded back like a trained animal, I did not know how to say 'yes' yet. "Do Saiyans talk?" All I could do was mutter back, I could understand other Saiyans in our household but when new Saiyans were acquired they would mumble differently until they adapted. We used to speak 'twin language' if you will, they were not true languages but we knew how to communicate verbally. "I'm going to do something cute, I'm going to teach you how to talk!" I remembered Range spending extra time in the fields shouting words like "work", "grain", and "tired". Whenever I had an action or emotion he shouted out the word. I remember Range's father coming home one day after I did extra work.

"Hello Mr. Vegeta, working hard or hardly working?" He joked.

"Work… Tired… More?" I responded to him about my exhaustion, yet willing to do more.

"See that Range? Monkey see, monkey do!" He joked again to his son. I laughed nervously in response, "How queer, it's like Mr. Vegeta's actually understanding what he hears."

"I taught Mr. Vegeta how to talk! His favorite food is meat provisions!" Range bragged, referring to the scarce mixed meat delicacy we know as hot dogs that was rationed.

"That's silly, we only give the Saiyans cereal grains." His father pointed out.

"I saved mine and gave it to him; he does a happy dance!" Range imitated to circular trot.

"That's funny, but scientific consensus dictates that Saiyans don't think which is why the race gleefully works for the Tuffles. I sure wouldn't want to work for free." I remember wondering why he did not want to work for the sake of working or minor rewards, obviously we didn't know our existence was a form of enslavement yet.

"I don't think it's true. Mr. Vegeta talks and criss-crosses my itchy mosquito bites." Range attempted to correct his father.

"Science is an absolute, something that's proven." He tried to teach Range, "Tuffle scientists have conclusively proven the lack of a Saiyan's thought process. It's not something that the King funds to control them, it's indisputable truth."

"Then let Mr. Vegeta eat at the table with mommy, Jarene, and Cwatt. He likes to talk when he eats."

"Sure," Range's father looked at me incredulously as he laughed, "he could bring a friend!"

I remember being so stoked to have the Master's food I begged the prettiest girl I knew for a date. We waited outside for an hour or two before we were let in. I ate things I never tasted before, mostly different fruits and vegetables. I remember how surprised everyone but Range was when I kept saying "more", eventually my date copied me and said something that sounded like "more". Every time we said it, we got more food.

"I'm amazed," Cwatt, Range's taller and lanky teenaged brother, said observing the spectacle, "those are tricks I've never seen Saiyans do before. Usually when we yell at them outside, they have no idea what we're talking about."

"I think it's wonderful what you taught Mr. Vegeta Range," his short brown haired mother told him, "but you have to remember that Saiyans don't think or have feelings."

"Also, they're impossible to truly educate." Jarene pointed out, "That's why the Saiyan race has no customs."

"They have no customs because they weren't taught to!" Range became upset, "Give Mr. Vegeta an oral citizenship test, because he can't read. We can teach him all about our customs, he'll remember."

"Sure," Range's father responded quickly since the thought of an educated Saiyan was ludicrous, so he had nothing to be defensive about. "Understand Range that I encourage all of my children to express their creativity, I just want you not to be disappointed when you determine what everyone else determined: that a Saiyan is simply a monkey."

I remember feeling a certain way being compared to an animal I saw on TV, but Range started teaching me everything he knew about the Tuffles. He taught me about their long history of ethnic strife and violence and the Great King, the Master of Tuffles, who put an end to it all with Worldwide Socialist ideology. That is that people possess as much as it is right for them to possess, versus the Saiyan ideology that's hardly practiced of everyone possessing properties and materials equally. Some Tuffles believed in the subversive you deserve what you earn mentality like my masters. Range however prefered to teach me the way of Tuffle culture: the manners, the King's immortality and omnipotence, Worldwide Socialist Party infallibility, and of course castes. Simply because I was in the lowest wrung did not mean that I had no ability to do the greater good for the Regime. Well, that's what I felt at the time.

I remember the day I went in the master's storage quarters, as they secretly administered the citizenship test. They knew their conduct was illegal, but they were careful not to get caught. Listening to and answering all of those questions was the longest eight hours in my life. I saw Cwatt, Jarene, and their father amazed at my slightly increased used of speech in the Tuffle tongue, and my ability to be able to answer the questions correctly at an amazing 85-90% clip. Range was happy that I proved that my knowledge was not simply 'monkey see monkey do', but I learned and communicated just like a Tuffle. "I told you!" Range screamed excitedly as my migraine set in after completing the test, "Mr. Vegeta is just like us!"

"He's highly intelligent," Range's father agreed impartially, "but we do not know if Saiyans think like us without a psychological analysis."

"Mother is a psychologist!" Range but in excitedly, it was almost too good to be true.

"No, your mother is a psychiatrist." His father corrected him, "she prescribes drugs to people who need them."

"Well, isn't that the same thing?" Jarene disagreed with her father.

"Not at all." Her father replied brusquely.

"However," Cwatt pointed out astutely, "she can still perform an effective psychoanalysis on Mr. Vegeta. It won't be in any way scientific, but I think Range deserves to see where this goes."

"I'll ask your mother." His children cheered until he spoke again, "but if there's any begging the answer is no. We have jobs to do!"

While his mother took months to make her decision, Range and I taught all of my friends, or what he felt were slaves simple speaking techniques and useful facts. We started to get work done faster because we knew how to talk to communicate more effectively. Range's mother's amazement eventually got the best of her and she agreed to conduct the psychoanalysis.

It was not like I imagined, I did not lay on a couch while she had a notebook open. I sat on a wooden chair at the kitchen table while Range's mother sat comfortably, observing that with my size it looked like I was sitting in a toddler chair. "Good evening Mr. Vegeta, I am going to perform a psychoanalysis on you. That is we are going to determine how, and if you think and feel."

I was puzzled. "If?"

"It is true that scientific consensus dictates that Saiyans do not have complex thoughts, feelings, and emotions." She responded confidently.

"Who," I stressed, "is the consensus?"

"The Tuffle scientific community of course." She looked back at me as if I was stupid. "A consensus is when everyone agrees about something without a shadow of a doubt."

"You don't think I feel happy or sad?" I challenged her, "I don't like being called a monkey. I don't like being told I don't think. I don't like that I am less than a Tuffle." I was unable to explain that they felt I was inferior to a Tuffle, but I still got the point across.

"You deranged…" the mistress muttered while slapping me. Her face became red with anger, suddenly I overreacted and a translucent aura appeared around me. She yelled, "Help!"

Range and his family ran from the stairs. His father protectively but ineffectively restrained me to make Range's mother feel safe. "What happened?" He yelled.

"This ape got angry at me, and he was rude, and he was—"

"A Saiyan cannot feel anger… A Saiyan doesn't know how to be rude!" Range's father thought his wife gone crazy due to the absurd notion.

"I don't like being called an ape. Apes don't have tails!" I pointed out.

I saw Range's father express a range of emotions. He was furious at my behavior towards his wife, yet everything that he observed challenged everything everyone knew about us Saiyans.

"You don't like being called an ape," Jarene unabashedly chimed in, "what do you like?"

"I like working, eating, fighting my friends. If you win a fight you get a girlfriend." I responded innocently. You see, with our bondage affected our urge to fight and compete. Our Tuffle masters taught us to work and to breed more slaves that would be effective at our menial tasks.

"This is unbelievable…" Range's father was shocked, with his head hanging down, "is he a mutant, a prodigy, an exception…"

"I think all Saiyans are like Mr. Vegeta father." Range stood up for me.

"Mr. Vegeta…" The still astonished Tuffle looked back at me, "are the other Saiyans like you?"

"We think differently." I responded, but wisely Range's family took that for an affirmative answer.

"I need to have a discussion with my commanding officer." He sweated nervously. "What I seen here today was simply impossible."

"Are you going to kill Mr. Vegeta?" Range asked innocently, this caught my attention.

"If I was going to do that I would have pretended everything was fine." He responded furiously to the accusation. Due to his anger at that notion, I trusted him.

I kept to myself immediately after that, I guess a part of me still knew my place I admit. I saw Range's father hurry to his vehicle while Range continued to bother him. "Father, are you sure Mr. Vegeta will be okay?"

He continued to act dismissive towards Range, "I don't know."

"Will you be okay father?"

"We'll see."

Something about that alerted me. I saw him took off and it took only hours for Range to come to me. "I'm sorry Mr. Vegeta, I'm starting to think Saiyans are not allowed to be smart."

"You're right." I admitted, I was not the legendary Father of the Revolution yet, remember.

"I think that's wrong!" Range wisely watched his volume.

I tried to take the middle of the road, not that it helped, "Sorry for getting in trouble."

"Don't be sorry, you are supposed to be angry about what happened!"

"I was angry, but if you stay angry you could get a black eye." I spoke from experience, the astute eight year old caught on.

"If I was king, Saiyans would be allowed to be smart!" I decided to listen to him rant, "Saiyans and Tuffles would go to the same schools, no one would have more money than someone else!"

I knew what Range just said was subversive, he taught me so. "The King's smart Range, Worldwide Socialism says the wisest decide how much each person gets."

"That's wrong, because it's unfair!" Range started to rage.

"What? But the King is infallible! We should live in the fields. The kings decides how much we deserve." I sounded almost scholarly I thought.

"In my world, we're all equal and we all help each other. No one will be rich, no one will be poor. That's the only way to make no one better than anyone else. Tuffles, Saiyans… This is our planet, we have to share it."

Suddenly, a black armored vehicle hovered in and men in black uniforms stormed in the master's house. I heard loud noises as it seemed like the impossible happened, Tuffles used blasters on other Tuffles. I know Range's father threatened to use the blaster on us if we got disorderly, so I learned that this was a Tuffle way of solving problems. Range started to scream fearfully as he gripped on me. I powered up, but I had no idea what to do next. "My friends, me, what should we do?"

"You're big and strong…" Range trembled, "stop them!"

"I want to…" I was honest, "but how?"

"Fight them! You can make blasters with your hands! I seen you and the other Saiyans do it!" Range suggested.

"We don't do that to Tuffles, only to mate." I explained that we only fought for one thing in mind.

"Try it Mr. Vegeta! Help me!" Range pleaded.

"I'll try…" I got up, "Help my friends be safe."

At this point the house was on fire, the Tuffle Protection Squadron men shot even before I could speak. The blast was painful, now I was staining the carpet with my blood. I was lucky to survive. "Get him!" One of the Tuffles yelled.

"Stop!" I yelped, "You'Lloyd get hurt!"

"Did it speak?" One of the Tuffles wondered.

"Who cares, you heard him! Smoke him out!" One of them answered unwisely.

I didn't know what this meant really, but I assumed that 'smoke' was to kill me. I flied through the wall to where I sensed one of the men. The brute force killed him instantly. The next Tuffles I destroyed with a weak blast. Suddenly I dropped to my knees with guilt, my anger could only bring me so far. I heard Cwatt yell, "Saiyan! Watch out!" I ducked instinctually as Cwatt used his father's blaster, which he had proper training for to kill two Tuffles. He was bleeding profusely and dropped to the ground, "Stop thinking Mr. Vegeta, they have mother and Jarene upstairs." He dropped and died.

I took his advice and flew, literally, up the stairs. When I opened the door to the master bedroom I realized why it was taking them so long to try to kill everyone. It was the most reprehensible sight I seen in my life, before I could yell at them stop, the Tuffles blasted both of them before turning their weapons on me. It did not take long for me to instantly kill them with blasts from my hands. Now that I failed to save a single life inside the house, I flew to save Range. My luck was no better, they already used Panzers to dispose of my friends. They probably didn't understand that they could have resisted, as I just learned to fight for blood minutes ago. I started shooting my ki blasts but they bounced off the armor of the vehicles. I had kick it up a notch.

"I don't understand," one of the Tuffles in a black tanker's uniform with a scouter yelled as she witnessed my Afterimage, "I can't aim the cannon, it's like he's trying to evade it on purpose."

"I can't believe I'm saying this," a frustrated Tuffle with authority laughed, "pull out the boy!"

"Range!" I yelled. "Range!" I knew exactly what they had planned.

"He knows your name kid." A Protection Squadron soldier said as he pushed out Range with a blaster.

"No!" I yelled, "Leave him alone!"

"Look, the monster speaks. You could train a monkey." Almost all the Tuffles laughed.

"This is far too strange," another Tuffle quipped, "I've never seen Saiyans act this way before."

"Soldiers, you're here to take orders, uphold your oath to the Master, not think. What you are watching is a series of tricks." Before he could yell out "Fire!" Range ran over and bit him, risking his life.

"Mr. Vegeta, do it! Now!" Range encouraged me to attack as now I had the initiative.

I blasted the Panzers and the Tuffles on the ground at full power. After all the smoke disappeared, there were clearly craters where Range and his antagonists once stood. I dropped to the ground and started crying, in an attempt to save their lives I killed Range's entire family, except his father of course, it seemed like he arrived an hour later. His body dropped, stunned, everything he owned and everything he loved was gone.

"What happened?" He cried, "I don't understand, how did this… Mr. Vegeta. You're the only one left."

"Master. I did this." I should have been shot on the spot, but Range's father knew better than to rush to judgment.

"Explain to me, how did you do this?" He gave me a chance to elaborate.

"They killed Range and everyone," I teared up with guilt, "and I killed them back."

"I believe you." I was relieved. He really had no reason to believe me, but now I know that he saw this coming. The Protection Squadron made no laurels about using violence to 'make peace.' Then he continued, "but I'm going to turn myself in before anything like this happens to my extended family. I'll tell them that I vaporized you for killing my family. They'll buy it, but I will be executed."

"Huh?" I pondered out loud.

"I will be killed. For my subversion to the King I suppose. I did not know training a supposedly untrainable beast was so subversive, how naïve I am. Mr. Vegeta… Go far away from here. Leave, live the rest of your life safely. Do not let others suffer the same way we have."

King Vegeta laughed in the present day, "If that was the case, why did you take up the struggle then, comrade?"

"Your mockery is not befitting of a king," the Patriarch spat back, "when I saw other Saiyans starting to learn, and be turned in for their ahem, reprogramming, I wisely saved them. Many Saiyans, and even Tuffles joined our cause, though the Tuffles didn't survive the necessary purges due to their various self-serving political objectives. They only wished to become the next Tuffle King themselves and were not interested in equality; they saw us as convenient allies. However, through the lives I've saved, I planted the seeds to the madness we've seen over the years. Millions have died in the wars. I'll feel guilty to my dying days."

"You shouldn't grandfather." King Vegeta shown his solidarity with what the Revolution became, "you saved the Saiyans from slavery. Not everything is going to end up as an eight year old envisaged. The ends truly justify the means, because of you taking up the struggle, generations have followed you and despite the costs we're finally free. If Range were to become an adult, he would have been proud of what you've become."

The Patriarch looked at the ruins of Tuffle City, he could have never imagined that saving so many lives from the slave camps and reprogramming institutions would kill so many ultimately. He knew the ends did not justify the means, but he had few choices. Should have the Saiyans remained uneducated apes? Should have the constant crimes and prejudices of The Regime gone unpunished? Or should a firebrand like himself have put a stop to it all? The Patriarch did not like being the 'necessary evil.' He did not like how his son and grandson created new castes in an attempt to control the Saiyans, to enable them to defeat the criminal Regime. Did the Revolution enable this? Perhaps. But the Patriarch can only be held accountable for his own actions. Not the actions of others.

"I'll die a guilty man," the Patriarch spoke aloud before standing up, turning his back, and walking away from King Vegeta. The wind created by his swift motion flipped up his cape. He walked to the balcony, looking at the horizon. The sun was setting; he could also feel his own time was short. "Range," he almost whispered, "I'm sorry. I wish it didn't have to be me."


	17. Citadel: 25 Part I

Citadel 25

Roman, whose black hair was more disheveled than usual, looked through the porthole of the ship as it was about to descend on Frieza's latest conquest, Planet Lasas. His heart was pounding as he noticed the prepared defenses on the ground. His fears that the casualty rate was irrelevant to the Planet Trade were realized. He looked to his left and right, most of his fellow privates were too intoxicated to care. The rest shoulders' were sloped in defeat as their fate was imminent. Roman, whose height seemed to be the average of the diverse casts of misfits conscripted for Frieza, tried to convince himself he would survive, "I survived some dicey situations in the Saiyan-Tuffle War, Nappa was not too sophisticated a tactician himself." Nappa, the general of the Saiyan army, felt little of expending lives to achieve strategic objectives. His first taste of combat was in Operation Mars, better known as the 'meat grinder' because the only reason Nappa initiated the offensive was to tie up Tuffle reserves to ensure the success of Operation Uranus in the war's penultimate battle. "If I survived 'Mars' I could survive anything. Little do my brothers in arms know, I'm a Saiyan."

The hatches to the ship opened and the Lasians opened fire immediately with razor sharp energy discs and large explosive balls of energy launched from flak weapons. The soldiers being forced out of the ship had two choices, to get killed by enforcement battalions inside the ship for attempting to desert combat or to take your chances with everyone else in the battle. Roman noticed a majority of the Planet Trade soldiers were being decapitated and disintegrated before they had a chance to hit the ground. Roman began to breathe heavier, not even Nappa would implement a frontal assault this recklessly. Roman finally hit the ground with some other soldiers who had blasters attached to their wrists. At this point the fighting intensified against the Lasians' prepared defensive positions. Lasas was tropical, humid, muddy, and had very light gravity. It was hard to concentrate in such hazy conditions. Roman was fighting for his life, using his natural born Saiyan edge to do the heavy lifting against the enemy fortifications with his ki attacks. As the surrounding fortifications, guns, and opponents were exploding, they heard their general speak over their scouters, in a deranged and singy tone, their general Axl practically sung to them, "You're in the jungle baby! You're gonna die..."

"He truly doesn't care if a single one of us even live!" A slimy blue skinned Planet Trade soldier with horns complained before his commanding officer made him explode with one simple ki blast.

Chryi, their unit's sergeant, had a decent level of power and had ten missions under his belt. This made him a grizzled veteran compared to most of the conscripts, but a mere peon compared to the lieutenants and the other relatively respected officers. He was furious at the soldier's lack of discipline, "Such mutinous language is not tolerated when you work for Frieza," the extremely muscled red skinned low level commander said, "we're fighting to take prisoners, and enslave this planet's inhabitants! Our only goal is to make them surrender!"

After it seemed like another ninety percent of the soldiers who actually reached the ground were slaughtered, they finally made their way to Lasas' main city. Now on the ground, the big cannons and razor disc guns were of little value. All that remained between Frieza soldiers and Lasas' freedom was their best warriors. "Battle power, 600, and there's a ton of them!" Roman took a reading and started fighting multiple Lasian warriors.

Roman, being a Saiyan, was able to dispatch dozens of them easily by rapidly firing small ki blasts. The opposing combatants were not too experience, as they had little ability to make formations to enhance their strength or to evade Roman's predictable attacks. While Chryi was being overwhelmed, Roman shot a wave that looked like it foolishly missed his own opponents, striking Chryi's opponents, saving his life. "Wow, you're good! This is obviously not your first rodeo." He clamored appreciatively. Roman was able to defeat two more warriors with a strong punch and a lick, knocking them out before another dug his claws into Roman's back and started to glow.

"This is it!" Roman sweated bullets as his scouter shown him a rapidly elevating reading during his opponent's self-destruction technique before a Death Beam suddenly hit him in the heart, finishing him before he took Roman down with him. "You saved my hide!" Roman smiled.

"You have my back, I have yours!" Chryi smiled before his face turned as cold as stone as he continued to melee with a new mass of opponents

"I'm weaker than the average Saiyan," Roman muttered quietly to himself, "I have to get much stronger to survive. If I'm this weak I'll never see Stuka again." Roman did not have much time to think about the Tuffle girl he loved when his scouter gave him an alarming reading, "900! No way! I'm dead!"

This humanoid Lasian warrior was transformed into a cyborg to increase her fighting power. She smiled viciously at the Saiyan. Before Roman could spend too long admiring her appearance she spoke to him in an unexpectedly human voice, "Your power is no match for mine, I hope you made a last will and testament!" Her hair was magenta, one of her eyes was blue while the other eye, on the metal side of her face, glowed eerily with a red LED. Both of them were an equal height as they started fighting. She punched so hard that Roman's armor was cracking. "You're slower than me, and you're weaker than me. I'm afraid I'll break your brittle bones soon. There's no chance you'll be any fun."

"Is your big butt made of metal too?" Roman taunted while powering up with a white aura.

"Very funny," the Lasian cyborg responded while distracted.

Roman stretched out a ring of energy, he had to use one of his best attacks already, "Kill Driver!" The ring was a direct hit, knocking the Lasian cyborg into the air. Roman used his Afterimage to intercept her, "Time to put you offline! Goodbye!" He punched her straight into one of the anti-aircraft cannons causing both of them to explode. Roman panted at the close call. The only reason he survived was due to his opponent's lack of initiative in combat.

"Good job, you're not half bad." Axl, a stocky but slightly 'muscular' humanoid with red cornrows and red Planet Trade armor with a cape floated down, "You have an appetite for destruction, I like that."

Roman noticed that what was left of Axl's army was now triumphant. "Sir, why are you down here with us?" He wondered.

"There are no more power levels left that are a threat to mine, the Lasians have now surrendered." Axl reasoned. Roman was thinking that someone at a little less than 50% of Kui's power like Axl could have prevented much of the wanton loss of life experienced in the battle by taking part in combat himself. "Lieutenant, what's the casualty report?"

Apple, a yellow skinned oval headed alien like Appule responded while sweating, "300,000 soldiers deceased, another 450,000 wounded. Two thirds of them need serious treatment."

"Give orders to kill them, the costs of their treatment is not worth the investment. The Lasians here can be sold and trained to do the same thing." While Apple hid his disgust, Axl licked his lips, "It's so easy, when everyone's trying to please me."

Roman's jaw dropped, he could not believe how repulsive his general's nature was. Nappa believed the ends justified the means, knowing that victory had a high cost. Axl on the other hand saw no concern at all in the means, none of the soldiers he sent out into the fray mattered to him. However, he was helpless to do anything about it. Axl took notice at Roman's shock, he could not help but to think he was new. "Young man, was this your first mission? Do you need some time, all alone? Everybody needs some time. You look shaken up."

"Yes it is general," Roman responded shivering. It was not like Frieza's slaves were granted a vacation.

"One down, twenty-four to go!" He laughed, "Don't worry, if you manage to survive it gets a whole lot easier!"

"What makes you say that?" Roman response incredulously at the sick man, continuing to shiver.

Axl spoke cryptically, "Don't really matter, you're gonna find out for yourself."

Roman thought about the one remaining fact in his life while being a slave soldier for Frieza, 25 was the only thing that mattered. If Roman was able to survive twenty-five missions as a combat soldier, he would be eligible to be an officer and greatly improve his chances of surviving. Better yet, he would be able to see Stuka, his only remaining friend. Roman thought back to shortly before the mission, after Stuka successfully challenged Frieza to let her live and see the Saiyans fail to produce any decent scouters and medical machines. He remembered his few short days of relative freedom before his conscription to the Planet Trade. He remembered how Stuka's brother Zerstorer, now a Lieutenant of the Planet Trade, was bragging about his living arrangements.

"I was so happy to make it out of the barracks to a place I can call my own!" The tall and slim Tuffle with a freshly shaved head wearing black armor and a purple jumpsuit underneath bragged as they were going up the elevator together.

"How big is it?" Roman asked excitedly, still in his Saiyan armor from Planet Vegeta.

"It has 200 square meters of functional space!" Zerstorer smiled.

Before the smile could fall off Roman's face, the emaciated Stuka, who was about Roman's height, in her work camp tatters and disheveled appearance explained, "That means his studio apartment is a little less than half that size." Zertorer allowed his sister's insult to roll off him since he was still elated that she was still alive. After the elevator ride ended, Zerstorer electronically opened the sliding door to his apartment revealing a very messy room with bags of chips and cereal covering his stove. "Wow, this place is a dump!" Stuka chided him.

"I don't bring guests here," Zerstorer scratched his groomed beard and tried to remain cordial, "I thought you died shortly after the Tuffle capitulation, I never imagined having to prepare the place for your visit."

Roman scratched his head and added, "The female Tuffles were kept alive for a reason!" Zerstorer sucked his teeth at the thought. "What do you have in the refrigerator? I can try to cook something, I know Kiki is hungry."

"He calls you Kiki?" Zerstorer judged while Roman started looking in the refrigerator. "Only your friends... And Mommy, daddy, and me call you that!"

Stuka gave her brother a dirty look, "He's my friend Zero, we've been friends for about a year." She then raised her voice. "Rome? Is there any mango in the fridge?"

Roman was being creative in choosing his ingredients, "I don't think your brother has any Tuffle food in here."

"No plantains on the counter? No coconuts or bananas? Any saltfish?" Stuka was guessing if her brother had any food that she craved. "You gotta at least hook a sister up with some rice and peas."

"Well," Roman pulled out a bag of fast food, "he has some leftover pizza and some Spacey's."

"Well, at least Planet Frieza has meat!" Zerstorer's head grew before he regained his composure. "Food here is a lot more plentiful than on Planet Plant. Try the 'chicken fingers.'"

Stuka looked confused and slightly disgusted, "Chickens have fingers on this planet?"

"No! They're just chicken tenderloins, try them." Zerstorer wanted his gaunt sister to eat anything to regain her health. He handed his sister the Spacey's bag and saw his sister take a large bite. His jaw dropped as he saw her being extremely disappointed.

"This chicken is woefully under-seasoned, what is it supposed to taste like?" Zerstorer started to grit his teeth while his sister continued complaining. "Do you have any hot sauce?"

Zerstorer started to lose his cool as a slight translucent aura started to appear, "For someone who hasn't eaten in years you're quite unappreciative!"

"Just because I'm half dead man, that doesn't mean my taste buds are!" She spoke curtly to her brother.

While Roman started to get ingredients together, Zerstorer tried to coax her to eat something else as Stuka finished the cold chicken fingers unappreciatively. "Maybe you will like this hamburger, it's made of... Beef."

Stuka yanked the sandwich from her brother's hand, "Like a beef patty?" Then took a bite into it, her expression quickly became disappointed, "This beef sandwich is woefully under-seasoned, do you have any hot sauce?" Zerstorer fell over with his feet in the air.

After about two hours, Roman was finished cooking barbecued chicken and macaroni and cheese. Stuka, now in a blue skin tight jumpsuit and white Planet Trade armor, immediately put down her brother's dried cereal and started eating the Saiyan's entree, "Wow Rome! You have a gift! I never knew you could cook!"

"I mostly cooked for my brothers. I was not allowed to share food with the inmates." Roman and Stuka laughed as Zerstorer's rage built within him. He observed how the Saiyan looked at his sister lovingly, and that his sister more than reciprocated his expression. He knew it was time to leave.

"Okay, it's been real, I'm going to leave you two to eat while I get some fresh air." Zerstorer got up disgustedly and put down his food.

"What's been real?" Roman wondered why Zerstorer was getting up so soon despite his sister miraculously being alive after all those years.

"Real nauseating!" Zerstorer said as he was walking out the door.

"Don't mind him," Stuka put her hand on Roman's shoulder, "he's just ticked that his Frieza food is flavorless and bland."

That night, while Stuka was sleeping, Roman floated to the top of the building where Zerstorer was sitting for hours. "Zerstorer, what's wrong? Kiki was wondering where you were."

"Don't bother asking me, Saiyan." Zerstorer turned his head, "you wouldn't understand."

"If you don't have the guts to ask me if I've been with your sister, the answer is that I have not. I didn't leave everything I ever knew behind for that." Roman responded angrily, not intimidated by Zerstorer's clear advantage in power.

"I don't know why I'm even sweating you." Zerstorer chuckled then crossed his arms.

"Why's that?" Roman smiled slyly, "educate me."

"Tomorrow you will be conscripted into Frieza's army! You have no chance of surviving twenty-five missions."

"I'm a Saiyan," Roman spoke pridefully and seriously with his arms down, "You have no idea what I'm capable of!"

"I know from experience killing many Saiyans myself in the war, you're different. You seem less vicious; you're clearly more virtuous. It's one thing to fight for your freedom, like both of us have in the war, it's another to fight purely to take someone else's freedom away." His smile dissipated as he finally had the gumption to ask Roman about the elephant in the room, "Do you love Kiki?"

"Yes,' Roman responded without hesitation, "I got to know her as a person. She's the kindest person in the universe."

Zerstorer laughed hysterically, "I see you don't even know her at all." Roman glared angrily at the Tuffle, "Let me say this man, if you really love her, you'll never see her again."

"You're crazy!" Roman spat back, "what makes you say that?"

"You have one thing going for you young man, you're kind and gentle." Zerstorer admitted, "Think about what'll happen to your soul if you somehow survive twenty-five missions. Only heartless and pragmatic killers get to live on. Take me for example, I'm a merciless high-class warrior. I care about no one's life but my own." Roman cringed as he saw Zerstorer was one-handed percent serious, "I've killed my tens of thousands and sent thousands more to their deaths without hesitation. Might makes right here, you either want to be just like Frieza or you die quickly. If you want to live: learn that life has little value."

"You're nuts. What if that's not me?" Roman challenged.

Zerstorer laughed with his arms crossed, "Of course not, until you realize how much your hands become soaked with blood if you live. If you somehow survive twenty-five missions, which you won't, do you think someone like Kiki deserves to be with a sociopathic killer?"

"Says you." Roman responded brazenly with a serious expression. "Don't make me laugh in a moment like this."

"I'm her brother!" He laughed, "She can't help who her family is man! If you really love Kiki and want what's best for her, let her forget about you and marry a scientist, or a politician, or someone that stimulates her intellectually. She deserves more than a brain-dead killer, you know that. Whatever you did on Planet Plant is better served as a memory-"

"Get your head back in the game soldier!" Chryi yelled in the present. "Don't think about the pleasure squadron yet before the Lasians have unconditionally surrendered!"

The weeks droned on, helping conquer nameless rock after nameless rock. Most of the missions were unmemorable other than the body count. In one mission in particular, Roman won a beam struggle between an erupting volcano and himself to save the lives of his brothers in arms, something Axl felt was odd. After the planet was conquered, he remembered Axl acting disappointed, "There's nothing worth of value on this dead rock like we were led to believe. If the world would end today..." Axl then non-chalantly shot a beam into the planet from the mother ship, making it explode easily.

"General, you killed everyone on that planet, you could have spared their lives by enslaving them." Roman tried to be virtuous and pragmatic at the same time.

Axl acted pseudo-poetic as a response, "So bitter sweet, this tragedy, won't ask for absolution..."

Roman seemed to be getting two to three missions a month at this point. He found solace in the fact that each traumatic experience brought him one mission closer to twenty-five. However, each time he got closer, he felt like more of himself died. It was a strange feeling, Roman obviously continued to be terrified from his years in the Saiyan-Tuffle War but he was able to live with the fact that the Saiyans were fighting to end their enslavement, and possibly their annihilation from the Tuffles. "What was the point to this madness?" Roman thought while eating slop in the mess hall, "killing tens of thousands of aliens on random planets no one ever heard of just to placate a monster and his blood thirsty masses?" After eight missions, Roman seriously considered with what little sense that he had left that Zerstorer was right all along. Maybe the virtuous person he used to be was better left off as a memory to Stuka, rather than the animal he became. "Stuka deserves so much more than this." Roman thought. The look on his face was dull and dissatisfied, not even the thought of eating seconds brought him happiness. He simply got up to eat more to sustain himself. The mess hall was staffed mostly by slaves, however there was one low level officer who commanded them. He had a beak with dark green skin and a disheveled white beard. The bird like creature always spoke with a creepy laugh.

"He he he he, more provisions young man?" He laughed as Roman's stone expression offered no response, "do you want the orange slop or the green slop? He he he he he!"

"Does it matter?" Roman responded without emotion.

He still laughed, "Yeah, what's the difference, right? He he he he!"

"The green slop is salty, unseasoned, and is a mixed of kale and collard greens. The orange slop has cinnamon and a slight amount if sugar, it is a mix of squash and sweet potatoes. Well, better give me both, I'll need it to kill more people." Roman still had a bit of his soul left it seemed.

"I was just like you once young man, he he he he!" Roman rolled his eyes and started to walk away with the slop, the officer was surprised, "Hey don't walk away, sit down with me for a moment."

Roman was intrigued that suddenly the scary bird guy was less creepy, and he wanted to see where this was going. "You survived twenty-five missions, so what?"

"A part of me will never be the same, but I held onto one thing during my whole experience. I didn't care about being a career soldier, but if I could cook for the officers in Frieza's army I'd have an outlet for my creativity in the kitchen." He spoke seriously, and out of character.

"How cute!" Roman brushed off curtly, "so now you get to give officers fine dining and the privates the slop and you never have to kill again!"

"Of course I've been sent back out on missions, but I'm no longer sent out first to die uselessly. If you volunteer to help me cook for the generals, you'll get some insight to their madness, why they care so little about life." Now it was the creature with a stone-faced expression.

"You know what?" Roman said, "I haven't thrown down in the kitchen in a while, do I get to eat what I cook?"

Now he smiled, "You don't get to eat the food. Just try enough of it to make sure it tastes just right! He he he he"

After the plebeians were long gone and the mess hall was disinfected, the generals took their seats and started guffawing. "I can hear them from here." Roman noted while the bird person laughed at him. "I'm sorry sir that I never introduced myself, my name is Roman..."

"He he he he..." The bird creature laughed, "not that any of the oblivious people here know, but that is a Saiyan name." He continued to laugh while Roman blushed, "You're secret is safe with me, I don't care that you're a fugitive."

"Well," Roman continued blushing, "I did come here because of a girl. I had no idea my ship was heading straight towards Frieza." His face returned to normal after he tasted some more food.

"My name is Raspbe. Don't worry, I've done plenty of stupid things chasing tail. Women have affected me more negatively than the wars! He he he he..."

While Roman shuddered, many of the Planet Trade's great minds got seated. Before the slaves could serve them, each took their turn violently grabbing the carafes of wine, they were obviously stressed out. "War on the cheap," Kui complained, being the first with the gumption to open up his mouth, "the Saiyans are willing to invade, cleanse, and prepare planets for sale for a fraction of the cost we're capable of. They're doing big money jobs for slave wages, it's obscene."

Zarbon was able to sip his wine more elegantly than his cohorts, but still quickly. "Their conduct on war is not elegant, it's sloppy, it's haphazard... But it's cheap and effective, if we don't get with the times we will lose many of our bids for Frieza."

"Bids?" Roman overheard and asked Raspbe, "What's that?"

"Frieza contracts out his armies," Raspbe educated him, "the generals compete for who gets to conquer a planet. Whoever does it for less gets the job. This is actually not unprecedented historically, he he he he..."

"You see... I'm more of an in the now kinda guy." Dodoria admitted. "Axl and Slash have the crudest strategies, expending an unimaginable amount of lives on frontal assaults. However, it's cheap, and effective. Blasters, armor, and bodies are inexpensive. It's far more expensive to recruit competent warriors, construct massive weapons, or even use the likes of the Ginyu force for the tough jobs. Why go through the bother, when you can just conscript a soldier for a thousand a piece? I don't know about you, but during this time of unprecedented expansion and opportunity, I'm going to keep up with the times."

"Axl and Slash," Zarbon shuttered at the thought and complained, "would have never had the minds or the power to be held at any regard when I earned my way through the ranks. Their conduct is uncouth, mindless, they'd expend thousands of lives for little purpose. Their offensive strategies are transparent, sending soldiers straight into prepared defenses, leaving nothing to the imagination."

"If that's what it takes to get ahead these days," Kui spoke fearlessly, " then I'm going to do it too. If I'm going to have to increase the amount of planets I conquer just to make a buck with today's lower profit margin, so be it."

"They're idiots!" Roman complained, but at not too high a volume, "at some point you'll run out of men and women. The game can't be kept up forever!"

"Says who, say you? He he he he..." Raspbe guffawed, "every planet conquered brings new cheap labor, cheap resources, and cheap soldiers to the empire. if a million die to capture a million and one, they'll keep doing it."

"You know what?" Roman sweated, "I think I gotta imagine how I'm going to stay alive so I can get stuck in the kitchen one day." Raspbe pat his back like he was proud of a son. Roman knew no one was looking out for him, to survive, he had to get much stronger.

Roman trained endlessly before his next mission, but he was only able to improve his power to a paltry 850. "Bardock and Nach would laugh at me, but I can't stop that from letting me become stronger!" Roman was to endure his most brutal week yet, to increase his prestige even more with Frieza, Axl took a low-ball bid to conquer an entire solar system for his Arcosian boss. Roman heard the grumblings and put the pieces together, even if casualty rates were relatively low, Axl took on the bid for a very small profit, continuing to revolutionize the rapidly expanding Planet Trade Organization's 'art' of warfare. If things go as planned, Roman would be thrust into four missions in a week. He did not know if his weak body would be able to hold up, but as a Saiyan, the challenge excited him. Roman was ambivalent, he was not violent by nature, but he still was not a pacifist. Especially with his experiences in the Saiyan-Tuffle conflict, his body and mind were built for war.

Roman got the gist of Axl's strategy for this conquest. This solar system actually had a quantitative advantage versus the rag tag armies that Axl has assembled, but the troops had the one advantage that their combined might would overwhelm them one planet at a time, while their opponents' defenses were spread out over four planets. It was almost too intelligent of a strategy for the feckless Axl to surmise.

At this point, Roman was a storm-trooper on the front lines. It did not take long to overwhelm Planet Blintz, after the usual throw as many bodies into the wall strategy succeeded, the planet's defenses collapsed. After Roman and the division's other powerful warriors destroyed Blintz's dams to create floods to subdue resistance, a small garrison was left behind to keep the planet secured. Knish took even less time to overwhelm as no powerful warriors were even on the planet, only foot soldiers with blasters who were quickly eviscerated by the more experienced Planet Trade soldiers. "What a bunch of useless weaklings with pea-shooters!" Chryi laughed while making scores of soldiers explode effortlessly.

"It's getting much easier." Roman laughed, "they already threw everything at us the first time around!"

There was even less resistance on Gefilte, much of their forces visibly withdrew after Frieza's murderers secured their costly advances. "Roman!" Chryi yelled, Don't let their ships get away!" Roman's ki shots were even more accurate and deadly than the more powerful warriors in his division. Roman was able to score hit after hit, making the withdrawal very costly. "Great job kid! There must be over a thousand soldiers in each ship!" It reminded him of his experiences in the Saiyan-Tuffle War. He felt very proud of himself, probably due to his Saiyan nature, but he was quickly becoming just another one of Frieza's killers. As his conscience weighed on his actions, he found resolve in one thing, he was about halfway to his relative freedom. He would still have to work for Frieza but at least he would have some semblance of control over his fate, and have a chance at living to an old age.

Roman observed that his cohorts were less rowdy and reckless than usual. They were obviously exhausted, the ones lucky to survive all three missions were about to play Russian Roulette tomorrow. Roman at this point was trying to embrace the challenge, he was a Saiyan after all. However, one of the green fish-faced Frieza soldiers spoke bitterly to him, "What are you smiling at? Axl's about out of cannon fodder and he could care less if your stupid butt dies to capture some rock no one ever heard of."

"If you feel that way, why did you bother trying survive all this week?" Roman spat back, while being offended.

"Do you have children?" He hissed.

"No, why would that matter?" Roman wondered.

"I thought so," he was only able to smirk a little, "I knew you wouldn't understand. I have children... I have no choice but to survive in order to see them again. If I ever get any control over my destiny, they may not be condemned to the same fate as I." He spoke boldly, he knew Roman could simply kill him on the spot. "You're just another one of Frieza's faceless murderers, just like the rest of them. I pity you."

Roman was so paralyzed by his comment he could not even think of killing him. A part of Roman feared everything that man said was true. Axl broke the palpability in the room by bringing drinks for his men to enjoy. "You don't know which day will be your last!" He laughed as his beleaguered soldiers started to unconvincingly unwind, "My way, your way, anything goes tonight! You with the messy hair, come join us!"

"I prefer to meditate before battle." Roman closed his eyes.

"I prefer to medicate before battle, how else could I survive fourteen years of this garbage?" Axl laughed before suddenly his face became creepily serious, "It's been fourteen years of silence, it's been fourteen years of pain, it's been fourteen years that are gone forever and I'll never have again."

Planet Matzo was the last significant planet in the solar system, everyone including Roman was convinced that their resistance was one strong blow from collapse. Instead of trying to meet Frieza's forces in prepared defenses, the civilians' were put in the way of the battle as the remainder of the forces took to the cities, forcing Axl to earn the last of his gains. Axl was getting upset with the level of collateral damage, he demanded that his best warriors would hold back, "You don't have to prove anything but that you could keep this planet in tact. There's no way we can sell this planet to Frieza in the shape you idiots are putting it in! If I lose my money you idiots will lose your lives!"

Roman found it difficult not to destroy the buildings, especially at the risk the combatants inside them posed to weaker soldiers. Roman's scouter screamed with a reading, he feared the worst as he shared his findings with Chryi. "I have numerous readings over a thousand, another at over 5,000!"

Chryi dropped his arm, which he was using to shoot blasts, "What?" He screamed in fear, "We're dead!"

"You know as good as I that only Axl himself is strong enough to stop these foes! Their power is overwhelming!"

"We will have to beat them with our overwhelming quantitative advantage!" Chryi started to speak to the rest of his soldiers on his scouter, "There is a power level of 5,000 in the vicinity. We are going to have to throw everything we got at him!"

"No!" Roman yelled, "Everything we have will bounce right off him!"

"Shut up soldier and take your orders!" Chryi yelled, "Do you want to die?"

"If we don't get some serious reinforcements to this sector, we'll surely die!' Roman argued back.

Chryi then shot Roman through the upper right part of his body making him fall to his knees, while Roman spat blood, Chryi looked back at the rest of his nervous troops, "Take that as a warning, our opponents are in the range!"

The curly haired humanoids started making short work of Axl's forces. Like Roman predicted, all of his allies' attacks bounced off the strongest Matzan while they were getting picked off. When the curly hair warrior appeared with the other overwhelming power levels, Chryi and Roman's other cohorts launched everything they had at him. While he tanked all the attacks the other powerful warriors picked off the Frieza soldiers one by one. Roman started thinking about how he was going to survive; it would not be long until Chryi would be one-shot. Roman spoke to Chryi, who was growing desperate, on his scouter, "Just because I won't survive doesn't mean you shouldn't get to live. Get far away from here, or Axl will kill you himself!"

"What do you mean?" Chryi sweated. Roman proceeded to indiscriminately destroy buildings with his ki blasts.

The mysterious powerful warrior yelled, "What in the world are you doing?"

Roman extended a powerful ring of ki from his hands, "Kill Driver!" A large part of the city proceeded to cave in on itself.

"You're crazy!" Suddenly he appeared in front of Roman and punched him through some more buildings. Roman started holding his jaw and blood poured out of his mouth, he was lucky to survive.

Axl furiously descended towards the scene. His eyes were ablaze as his prize was being devalued at a rapid rate. Chryi was certain he was about to be executed until Roman gave him a piercing look, "His power," Chryi pointed out the curly haired warrior to Axl, "it's overwhelming. He's destroying the entire city to make it more defensible."

"And if I am?" The warrior challenged having no idea what he was up against, "My name is Macaro, and I'm by far the most powerful person in the solar system!" He fixed his brown hair, he was a little bit taller than Axl. "I trapped your entire army. After we kill all of them, we'll take our planets back. Your strategy is so foolish." He hissed.

Suddenly Axl appeared behind his back and grabbed both of his arms and pulled them painfully towards himself, "It's too bad you have no idea what you're up against."

Macaro became frustrated, "You talk, I kill!" He used his stretch arms to shoot a wave of ki into Axl. Causing a large explosion, but Axl wasn't even singed from the attack. "What, no way!"

"Before I put you out of your misery," Axl chuckled, "Let me tell you exactly who I am." Axl then proceeded to use eye lasers to kill each of Macaro's cohorts. Roman and Chryi were amazed at his power. "I am General Axl of the Planet Trade Organization. My leader, Lord Frieza is easily ten times as powerful as I. After I kill you shortly from now, I will enslave every living thing in this solar system, sell them all for a profit, and conscript your able bodied men and women to start the process all over again somewhere else. It's business, not personal!"

"That's nuts!" Macaro screamed, "We'd rather die!"

"Trust me, that's what they all say, until a couple hundred of thousand are killed like the worthless punks they are. They start to listen after that, just ask any of my soldiers." Any one of Axl's soldiers looking on at the situation easily agreed.

"If I work for you," Macaro sweated, "Do I get to live?"

"Of course." Axl smiled and let go.

"Over my dead body!" Macaro laughed before wrapping his body around him, and started to glow as he was going to self-destruct.

Roman yelled, "Chryi! Now! Calamity Blaster!" Roman stretched his arms from behind himself and launched his most powerful attack towards Macaro.

"Cherry bomb!" Chryi screamed launched a red orb of ki towards Macaro.

Both blasts hit him before he self-destructed, weakening him before a large explosion enveloped a large portion of the city. After the smoke cleared, Axl's armor was burnt and cracked. It was clear he would not have survived if he did not receive help from his soldiers. He was furious at the fact that he had to get his hands dirty. "How mortifying..."

Chryi spoke up, knowing that the two of them saved Axl's life, "As you say boss, everybody needs somebody..."

"I am a high class warrior," Axl hissed, "there was a time I could do this on my own. You two need to rest and refit." Then Axl looked at Roman's gaping wound that he received from Chryi and stated the obvious fact, "I don't think the Medical Machine can fix that."

Roman had to lie, or risk being eliminated for financial reasons, "I'll be fine. I'm a fast healer."

Axl understood why he lied, and shown a rare moment of mercy, "Take to the mother ship. You two are a step closer to your promotions. At ease." As his two soldiers took off, the rest of the soldiers looked on at their general who became excitable and angry, "Don't just stand here, the battle is not over yet! Get in the ring! Get in the ring!"

Roman had time to think while in the Medical Machine in the mother ship. He thought about the fact he was becoming the brain-dead murderer Zerstorer warned him of. Many of his light wounds were healed but the wound inflicted on him by Cheryi could not heal completely. When he was let out the tank he bandaged himself up and covered himself with his skintight jumpsuit and armor, the white haired humanoid military doctor warned him, "You're wound will likely get infected. Even if you can now fight another day, it won't be long. I doubt the general will let you seek further medical treatment."

Roman smiled, strangely, "At least I'll get to seek my penance and say good bye to my good friend. If I am going to die anyway, I no longer have to be doing this."

"It really isn't too bad once you survive twenty-five missions. As long as the enemy on the ground doesn't have heavy artillery I'm safe here on the ship. Believe me, when you make it you have long learned to care about no one's life but your own. Seek your penance, I won't stop you." The doctor chuckled.

Roman made his way to Planet Frieza. His wound became increasingly uncomfortable; his armor clearly had blood under it. "I've come to say good bye, and apologize for the monstrous things I've done." Roman rehearsed to himself. When he went to Zerstorer's building, the door man, a decommissioned officer wearing armor like most in the Planet Trade who were no longer under full slavery, quickly shown Roman the door until he asked to speak to Zerstorer. The door man was a blue skinned alien with green eyes and no hair, he quickly informed the vagabond he saw in front of him, "Good luck rat, Lieutenant Zerstorer is on a mission far away from here, his sister is house sitting for him."

Roman was elated, "Good, Zerstorer hates my guts anyway. Let me speak to her." He stressed.

"As you wish," the door man laughed, "this won't take long, what is your name?" After Roman told him his name the door man was surprised. "She's buzzing you in..." He continued to act surprised, "lucky you."

Roman did not know what he meant by that and took to the elevator. As it was ascending, he was thinking about how he would say good-bye as his bleeding wound was mortal unless he ran into some money. He went to unit Bf-1110-d, and knocked on the door despite the fact he could have used the doorbell or send an electronic signal instead. The door slid open and Roman's jaw dropped. Stuka's appearance changed a lot over the last two months. She was easily forty pounds heavier, with her hair now long in thick twist braids, wearing only her blue skin tight jumpsuit without the usual armor. Before he could take in her now voluptuous appearance he turned his back, blushing while his nose bled. Stuka laughed, "What are you doing here Rome? They usually don't let soldiers out of the barracks. I doubt you came back to show me the back of your bloody armor!" She proceeded to wrap her arms around him, pushing her body onto his back, causing Roman's nose to bleed faster. "Are you okay? Let me take a look under your armor."

Roman at this point quickly forgot why he came back, he felt ambivalent. He had one thing on his mind yet he never looked at Stuka that way before. Her appearance in the camps was far from pretty, he never even imagined what she was supposed to look like. When he came inside the small apartment, he started eating some saltfish and rice that Stuka had out. He stopped eating to take a look at a seemingly out of place medical machine stationed in the middle of the room, "What's that Kiki?" He laughed, "Did you read up on the bylaws before you installed that thing?"

"You worry too much!" Stuka laughed, "I watched daddy fix everything including the plumbing in the house countless times. He refused to pay anyone to ever do it. I seemed to watch every possible mistake at least once, it used to drive mommy crazy."

"Wasn't your father a talented general?" Roman remembered.

"When he was home he was just a man." She reminisced, "He tried to fix everything himself because 'Tufflemarks don't grow on trees.'"

"Well, what does it do?" Roman asked while Stuka took off his armor and looked at his wound.

"This is the next generation of Medical Machine technology. Inside its healing fluid, artificial DNA can be added, giving the machine the ability to heal more quickly, even reversing mortal wounds."

"That thing really works?" Roman wondered. "How?"

"Well, it does on paper, I never put anyone in it." Stuka looked at Roman opportunistically while looking at his wound. She elaborated, "The artificial Saiyan DNA goes into the blank cells in the healing liquid, organs, flesh, skin, bones, are all rebuilt."

"How about my tail?" Roman wondered, "I'd hate for it to come back only to pull it out again."

"I couldn't design it to grow back limbs or anything, not yet." Stuka felt slightly ashamed.

"Can I try it?" Roman smiled. Stuka closed her eyes and agreed, putting the Saiyan in the machine. While inside, he had no idea how much time has passed. When he was finally let free, he saw that the Tuffle looked delighted. "Rome, you look great!" She smiled.

"I feel great.. I never felt this good!" Roman looked at himself impressed, his wound was gone.

Stuka put on her scouter, "Let me take a look. Wow, 1,010. You've become much stronger. How?"

Roman was stunned, "Give me that!" He yanked the scouter and took a selfie with it, and looked at the reading. "No way, I was never this powerful before! Not even in the war."

Stuka was elated, she could not contain her excitement. "It works perfectly! I'm sure once Frieza gets his hands on this device it will be put into mass production. All we need to do is bring the factories up to date on Planet Vegeta..."

Roman did not think about what Stuka had said. Instead, he sought to test his powers. He picked up Stuka with his arms around her back and legs, causing them both to laugh. Later that evening as they were laying next to each other, Stuka was unexpectedly meek again while Roman was laying on his arms. Roman guessed it was natural for her to be hesitant afterwards, "Are you okay Kiki?"

"I am." She sighed, she did not know how to feel, though she was not mad at Roman. She grabbed one of his hands and held it, trying to act less nervous. After he chuckled and looked towards her she broke the silence, "I guess I am no different than my mother; I can't keep my eyes off a man in uniform."

Roman cringed a little, "That gets me to why I'm here."

Stuka was not naive in this department, she loosened her hand a little. She was ready to lash him, "What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you don't want to spend your life with one of Frieza's murderers. You'll be made a widow quite quickly."

"What are you saying man?" Stuka almost screamed.

"In the Saiyan-Tuffle War, I was fighting for my freedom. I remember my conscription, and when our unit's counterattack took back the village I grew up in. Seeing how the Tuffles devastated my home, and seeing the horrors they committed in the war motivated me to fight. It was a miracle I survived the meat grinder and Operation Bagration. But what I do now, I kill a bunch of aliens I never heard of, just for the selfish motivation to survive twenty-five missions. My hands are soaked with blood, you deserve better than that. Now I know that everything Zerstorer told me was right."

"Zerstorer told you what?" She covered her eyes with her hand and clenched her teeth. "Don't listen to that fool, he only thinks about himself." Stuka scoffed while putting her arm around the Saiyan, "He can get incredibly protective. I remember there was a boy I dated that he sent into the hospital before he got deployed."

Roman's face turned blue, "That makes me feel real good right about now!"

"I was thirteen then, I'm an adult now." Roman gave her a weird look because mature people do not typically announce that they are adults, "You have to be pragmatic. If you weren't working Frieza and taking their orders, someone else would. In a way, you're not killing anyone because all of your victims would be dead anyway."

Roman knew there was something wrong with her logic, "I don't think I understand." Roman's facetiousness was subtle.

"Frieza, and his generals are going to carve up the universe one way or another. Everyone they want to kill, will be killed. The guilt is not on you, all you are trying to do is survive. So, survive. The only life that matters is your own, then you can come back to me." Roman continued to look at Stuka incredulously, "If you die, think about it this way, I could be wooed by a true savage, a true monster. You on the other hand have always had a good soul, I saw that when you first took your job at the camps. You didn't crack the whip so to say on us due to your lust for power, you did what you had to do to survive. This isn't the first time. So... Do what it takes to survive. The only thing you should be thinking about is surviving twenty-five missions and making your way back to me. That's the only thing that matters now."

Roman looked into her vulnerable brown eyes, he knew she was misguided like virtually everyone he met in the Planet Trade, all the Saiyans who abused the Tuffles, and all the Tuffles who committed the atrocities against his Saiyan kin. He wanted it all to make sense, he really did. He looked into her brown eyes and remembered she is a Tuffle after all, like the countless Tuffles who shown no humanity to the Saiyans in the war. Was everyone crazy but him? Or was he the only one who was crazy. He seriously thought about that. He decided to try to feel selfless though he knew he was bankrupt inside; he now knew to survive to because the right thing to do was to make his way back to Stuka. He loved her and she loved him, and maybe the fact he had a shred of humanity unlike the countless amount of Frieza's murderers made his survival the lesser of two evils. At this point, he chose to survive and to do whatever it takes to accomplish twenty-five missions.

After a long and exhausting night, Roman got back up to leave. He had to report to the barracks. Stuka could not get up so she simply sat up. She spoke softly, "Rome, please come back. I need you to."

The Saiyan, now with multiple motivations to survive, smiled, "I will stop at nothing to survive. I can guarantee you one thing, you will see me again!" Both of them exchanged smiles as Roman finished putting on his new armor and jumpsuit. Roman took off to Axl's barracks with little on his mind except seeing Stuka again.

After her elation wore off, Stuka smiled lustily, looking at her now successful prototype of a DNA enhanced Medical Machine. "Frieza will not just let me live now, my value to the Planet Trade will now be indispensable! King Vegeta's days are now truly numbered. It will be much easier to take Planet Vegeta, and the factories, by force than to spend years to build new ones. The Saiyans may have taken everything from me, but it will be the Tuffles who laugh last!"


	18. Citadel 25: Part 2

Citadel: 25 Part II

Axl returned to Planet Frieza victorious after conquering the Koshe solar system. His rising prestige was the cause of Dodoria's and Zarbon's ire as these new cheap and unprofessional armies and the inexpensive Saiyan mercenaries were cutting deep into their profits. Worst yet, they cut deeply into the respect Frieza had for his top henchmen who were slow to adapt their strategies.

"The Koshe solar system was a tough but to crack, well done." Frieza spoke unassumingly, and closed his eyes with a polite smile. "I believe the command of an army group is in your future."

Zarbon and Dodoria were livid while Axl replied. "It is simply an honor to serve for the Planet Trade Lord Frieza. My army will be ready for another mission as soon as you ask, we are reinforcing our ranks quickly with conscripts."

Frieza smiled as he had another opportunity to denigrate Zarbon and Dodoria. "You see that Dodoria? Axl is always ready, and willing to serve me. And Zarbon… Even a warrior of Axl's distinction is able to forgo the rules of warfare to unprecedented successes. Maybe, you can take a page or two from his playbook?" Even Frieza's patronizing chuckle did not make Zarbon lose his composure.

"Axl's accomplishments militarily are unprecedented," Zarbon spoke coolly while alarming Axl, "his rate of success has only been exceeded by that of the Saiyans."

Frieza smiled, "That is true, the Saiyan mercenaries have been immensely helpful allies."

"Maybe the future of the Planet Trade Organization is not simply having the universe's most powerful armies," Axl started to get unnerved as Zarbon continued to speak, "but it is simply subjecting the universe's most powerful races to will of the Planet Trade for a fraction of the cost. The Saiyans enjoy fighting for us so much, they'd probably continue to fulfill our whims almost for free."

Dodoria had little to contribute, "That King Vegeta is a really cool guy."

Frieza probably knew he was being played, but he still respected his long loyal henchman Zarbon far more than the opportunist Axl. "Zarbon, that sounds intriguing. Dodoria? Why can not you be more like Zarbon?"

"Rubbish!" Axl yelled as he was infuriated by Zarbon's lack of respect. "There is no reason to depend upon the Saiyans when I can assemble the armies necessary to force them to capitulate to our will!"

Zarbon and Dodoria laughed hysterically. "You? Defeat the Saiyans? You've truly gone crazy! The Saiyans may very well be the most powerful race of warriors in the universe!"

"If, and I mean if you can meet the Saiyans on equal terms," Dodoria taunted, "King Vegeta's power is rumored to be unequaled, other than that of Lord Frieza of course."

Frieza's face was like stone, Axl was desperate for an opening, to take an opportunity to gain Frieza's respect. The chance to be like Zarbon and Dodoria. "What kind of bid are you considering for the conquest of Planet Vegeta?" Frieza stunned his henchmen.

"Lord Frieza…" Zarbon was galvanized, "You'd betray King Vegeta?"

"A little word like betrayal has never dissuaded me from achieving my objectives in the past." Frieza responded without remorse.

"Without knowing King Vegeta's true power," Dodoria trembled, believing King Vegeta to be of Frieza's caliber, "we do not know the costs involved of achieving that conquest."

"You two make me sick!" Axl spat back, "If it took the Saiyans years to defeat the Tuffles, my armies reinforced with enough numbers can make the Saiyans surrender in days!" Axl's bravado galvanized everyone in the room. "l can achieve conquests of more solar systems simply to conscript the numbers necessary to force the Saiyans to capitulate." Axl clenched his fist and bragged.

Frieza was probably lying, but he made Axl an offer he could not refuse, "If you are capable of conquering Planet Vegeta without the assistance of the Ginyu Force. You will solely become my right hand man."

Zarbon and Dodoria were so infuriated at the notion they were made dumb. Axl stood up with faux confidence, "Consider it done Lord Frieza."

As Axl walked away, Zarbon and Dodoria demanded a word with Frieza. Dodoria did not think before he spoke, "If you somehow think the conquest of Planet Vegeta is in our grasp, why would you not dispense the Ginyu Force instead of an inexperienced and unprofessional army?"

Frieza maintained a stone expression on his face. "I will be blunt. If the Ginyu force were to be dispatched by the likes of the Saiyans, the current specter deterring my subjects from rebelling would be gone."

Zarbon spoke the obvious, "If Axl has no chance, why betray our most useful allies in a war we're not prepared for?"

Frieza's expression changed to a menacing smile, "Axl and his cohorts armies mean nothing to me. Their only use is their expandability. Saiyan universal offensive capabilities are limited. As they barely conquered their own planet, this means the Saiyans are of no risk to me. That Tuffle girl I spoke to was right." Dodoria and Zarbon asked who he was talking about, as someone like Stuka was assumedly insignificant. "The tall skinny girl who said the Saiyans would be unable to construct decent scouters, medical machines, and other equipment for our war machine. Ever since I granted her asylum we received nothing but garbage from Planet Vegeta. They continue to make offers to our ambassadors all but confirming her value to their manufacturing. If we conquer Planet Vegeta and with its industrial infrastructure in tact, I will finally gave the means necessary to conquer this entire universe!"

Zarbon smiled as he finally remembered that one of his lieutenants, Zerstorer, was the brother of this Tuffle girl. If he can have Axl do his dirty work, the prize of Planet Vegeta would be purely his for the taking. "I'll need to summon Zerstorer away from his mission right now," Zarbon thought to himself, "after Axl and his army fail to defeat the Saiyans, I can conquer the planet for Frieza before they have the chance to recover."

Axl was miserable after he bit off more than he can chew to Frieza. If he did not conquer Planet Vegeta in due time, it could cost him his life. Worst yet, if one of his competitors conquered the planet first he'd be unable to procure the same amount of bids Frieza has been granting him. Conquering insignificant planets for slaves and conscripts was small potatoes, but he knew there was no amount of numbers he could achieve to defeat the Saiyans, as the average Saiyan's strength exceeded that of his experienced officers. He was drowning his miseries while Stuka spotted him. The Tuffle knew this was one of Frieza's generals, she just had to coerce the right lunatic to take a crack at conquering the Saiyans. Axl was singing to the bottle he was swigging from, "I'm a mean machine, been drinkin' gasoline, and honey you can make my motor hum…"

Stuka slithered over to the general , whose eye was caught from the tall woman. "I have what you're looking for…" The Tuffle tempted him.

"Wow," Axl smiled, distracting himself, "let me offer you a drink first."

"No I'm not one of those girls." Stuka caught on while Axl appeared confused, "What I want to discuss is strictly business, you want what I have especially…"

Axl raised his eyebrow, "Two, three hundred?"

Stuka was alarmed at the notion, "The technologies I have to offer and my knowledge of Planet Vegeta's infrastructure is invaluable!"

Axl smiled, but in a different way than he expected to, "You're place or mine?"

Stuka sighed while getting up, "The Medical Machine I need to show you is in my place."

Axl rubbed his hands while he looked at Stuka from behind on her way out, "One in a million!"

Stuka waited impatiently in her brother's apartment for the general to come. She felt that she was close to coaxing him to invading Planet Vegeta and getting revenge on the Saiyans for her. Without any warning from the doorman, (assumedly generals went as they pleased), Axl slammed on the door. "Use the door bell man!" Stuka yelled wearing her blue jumpsuit and white armor.

As she opened the door, she was stunned to see that Axl also brought his Planet Trade cronies with him. Axl was not appropriate, "Where is what I am looking for as I brought all of my officers here."

Slash had his back turned and his arms crossed to Axl, even with his top hat and sunglasses obscuring his face it was still obvious he was rolling his eyes, "You wasted our time going to some girl's apartment, you said there was serious business in here."

"Calm down brother!" Duff put his hands out in front of him with his dyed blonde hair hanging down, "Let the Tuffle speak, I wouldn't have brought you here if it was going to be a waste of your time!"

Stuka had a bead of sweat hanging down as she waited for Axl and his cronies to finish bickering, "What you see in the center of the room—"

"Is that a Medical Machine? Cool man…" The wrinkled curly-blonde haired Adler interrupted while stumbling.

"Yes" Stuka continued to sweat, "A Medical Machine. But it is not an ordinary Medical Machine—"

Dizzy, who had pale skin a black dreadlocks spoke approvingly, "I told you the boss knew what he was doing!"

Axl was getting impatient, "Go on Tuffle, because we're here for only business."

Stuka continued to be appalled by Axl's behavior, but she was long not afraid of those who had the power to end her life. "This is the next generation of healing technology, incorporating artificial DNA in the healing process. No longer will broken bones and missing organs require lengthy treatment. Anything with a heartbeat will be able to heal in less than a day. Most injuries can be healed within hours!"

Slash took off his sunglasses in amazement, revealing his old face. "How does the device function?"

Stuka now let off a smile, happy that her mechanical talents and her passion for genetics was being realized, "As simply as any Medical Machine, other that you can accelerate the healing process by selecting a racial setting." She walked over to the side of the machine where the racial input was.

Axl spoke to Dizzy, "Shoot her lethally."

"With pleasure boss!" Dizzy licked his lips and grabbed the Tuffle, after Stuka gasped he quickly shot a wave of ki through her body.

Stuka spat blood all over Dizzy, who maintained his hold over the Tuffle. Axl smiled while Duff worried, "Aren't you going to throw the Tuffle into the machine!" Axl nodded while Stuka desperately clawed into Dizzy.

"Oh, that's why I had to do that boss," Dizzy finally surmised, "You want to demonstrate if the machine works." Dizzy and Adler not so gently shoved the Tuffle into the Medical Machine and activated the device.

While playing dice, the blonde haired Izzy observed the settings on the machine, "The settings are clearly on Saiyan DNA, if the device doesn't work then we have to try the machine out on someone else."

"You're a fool as usual Axl." Slash crossed his arms. "Not thinking anything through, you're armies are nothing without mine."

Axl looked infuriated and wiped the sweat off his forehead, "When this machine works, you'll be begging to work for me again. That's why we're here in the same room!"

Duff put his arms around both of them, "This is the most I've seen the both of you talk in years! A reunion is in order!"

"Not in this lifetime!" Slash laughed.

"Boss!" Dizzy said surprised in a happy tone, "It looks like it's working!"

Axl smiled as he observed skin growing over the mortal wound, "I won't have to give Gilby a call!"

In a little less than three hours, the fluid drained from the tank and Stuka opened her eyes. "Wow, I'm alive. The last thing I remembered was… Did anyone change the DNA setting?"

Dizzy trembled, "Well uh, we didn't notice until you were an hour deep!"

"And you still didn't change it?" She screamed.

"The Machine worked wonderfully, and you appear to be as good as new!" Duff tried to lift her spirits.

Stuka looked at her fingers, and turned her head around, noticing there was no tail. "I guess there isn't a big difference between Saiyans and Tuffles after all. But I have this sudden urge to eat, and to hit something." Stuka punched Dizzy in the nose, knocking him out in one shot.

Izzy looked at his scouter, "Your power level is 800. Not bad."

Axl was now elated that his most useful soldiers could now be revived as long as the living body was recovered. "This Machine is fantastic! But how could I obtain enough devices to launch my next invasion if there is only a prototype?"

"The key is Planet Vegeta," Stuka smiled while standing erect, "The key is to capture the industrial infrastructure intact. The Saiyan armies took great care to leave our Silesia factory districts I minimally damaged. Without them, the Saiyans would only be able to export just mercenaries, instead of the array of technological devices the Planet Trade enjoys."

Axl clenched his fist, but then started to tremble, "But to take Silesia is to take Planet Vegeta, to take Planet Vegeta is to defeat the entire Saiyan race."

"You're afraid you're unable to do it." Stuka smiled at the general. "What a pity."

Axl was about to roar, now both of his fists were clenched, he now desired to take Planet Vegeta more than ever. "How is it you dirty Tuffles were able to repulse the Saiyans for so long? Frieza practically propped up King Vegeta and the entire Saiyan army, and it still took four years." Stuka looked shocked at Axl, as this was unbeknownst to her, "What do you mean?" Axl chuckled, "You thought that the Saiyans defeated the Tuffles on their own? That all it took was a simple full moon? You are much stupider than you look."

"Excuse me rude boy," Stuka stroked her hair angrily, "what made us so important that Frieza took part in our extinction?"

"That's not you concern, Tuffle." Axl crossed his arms, flexing his muscles, "How will you help me take Planet Vegeta? How did the Tuffles hold their Saiyan menace back for so long?"

"We fought the Saiyans with weapons, since there was no way to beat them in hand to hand combat. The most effect means of defense however was the panzerfaust, the armored fist." Stuka reminisced, "They were so feared I even heard about them in the camps. By the last year of the war, teenagers, invalids, and the elderly were out there on the frontlines fighting the Saiyans. The panzerfaust, cheap, easy to manufacture, turned a fourteen year old girl into a Saiyan-killer. Any incompetent with a clear shot could kill a seasoned Saiyan warrior easily. It was tested to kill battle powers up to 2,000 from distances under thirty meters. If you have the guts to get close to a Saiyan, and for some reason he's not flying light speed, he or she is dead meat."

"They sound like a bazooka!" Slash asked the Tuffle who nodded. He broke his glasses, she earned his full attention. "How do we obtain these panzerfausts? How many can we get?"

Stuka explained, "I knew a Kapo at the munitions plant—"

"I apologize," Duff interrupted politely, "I don't speak Tuffle."

"A collaborator, the last woman to die." Stuka's eyes were covered by a sudden darkness. "Manufacture could be set up easily in the Planet Trade in less than six months. The only way to obtain them now is to coax the Saiyans to fulfill an order and put the girls back home to work."

"Duff," Axl ordered his subordinate, "Say whatever it takes to get that order of panzerfausts from Planet Vegeta!"

Duff was prepared to take off, time was of the essence, "How large of an order?"

"As many as you can get!" Axl roared and smiled, "With these Saiyan-busters: shoot to thrill, play to kill…"

Dizzy looked confused, "That doesn't make sense boss."

Axl quickly corrected the cowardly Dizzy, "It makes more sense than you think."

After being briefed by the Tuffle, Duff's ship seemed like it crashed into the dust of Planet Vegeta less than twenty four hours later. Two Saiyan guards were ready to extinguish the threat, a burly bald Saiyan informed the tall and athletic Zorn, "Consider the intruder dead sir."

"No, the markings are of the Planet Trade, he works for the Arcosians." Zorn halted his men, "King Vegeta has given me strict orders that we comply with the whims of Frieza for the time being."

The other Saiyans laughed, "The legendary Super Saiyan would make quick work of that tiny reptile-man! I'm tired of acting like Patsies for these Arcosians."

"Silence soldier!" Zorn yelled, demanding discipline.

"I am Lieutenant General Duff, associate of General Axl of the Planet Trade Organization. We are here to make a very generous offer for munitions to complete our conquest of the Romano solar system." Duff acted desperately.

"Generous?" Zorn questioned, "What else are you in the market for rather than some energy cells for blasters and some bombs?"

"My superior wants me to speak to the factory supervisor herself. He told me to ask for Deschnell." Duff convincingly sweat, "Or else my head."

Zorn tried to show his subordinates how to act to a Planet Trade ambassador, "Come, I'll show you to the factories. They are not too far from here in Silesia."

Duff's scouter was recording video so the topography and other visuals could be retained for military reconnaissance. Duff was lead into one of the slave camps from Zorn. He saw the atrocities Stuka later described to Axl: young girls, women, the elderly, all looked like skeletons with skin. There was a stench of decomposing bodies and utter filth. Zorn yelled at the Saiyan colonel for Dischnell, the orange-tinted haired Saiyan saluted and responded fearfully, "She is in no condition to leave medical sir, she is in terrible shape."

"I have a member of the Planet Trade here, bring her here or I will bring you to her!" Zorn spoke in a Frieza like tone. She knew she did not want to be roughed up by her own comrades. Not long afterwards, a Saiyan private walked the limping and bandaged Tuffle over to Duff. The bandages were soaked with blood, it also looked like she was succumbing to gangrene. The Tuffle's hair was unevenly poofy with streaks of gray. Her once dark brown skin now resembled a dry gray matte, Duff shown more fear of her than the Saiyans, it looked like she was already dead. She looked back at him with her remaining eye, the other eye was covered with an eye patch.

Duff looked back on Zorn, who he knew would fulfill his request, "I request time alone with the Tuffle."

The four other Saiyans looked disgusted at Zorn when he responded quickly, "Anything you ask for sir, it's yours." Zorn led them away from the Planet Trade thug and the Tuffle.

"Whatever you have to say must be off the chain to have those Saiyans leave me on my own!" The Tuffle laughed with a voice higher-pitched than Duff expected.

"I was sent here from Stuka, whatever that means." Duff responded, still cringing.

"I was wondering about that child," Deschnell tried to bite on her nail, only running into skin. "So the rumors are true, she successfully escaped this hell."

"My commander, Axl is placing a large offer for general munitions. He promises to bring the Planet Trade here, and take out the Saiyans if you are able to make a considerable amount of the order panzerfausts." Duff asked sneakily.

"I got you." Dischnell chuckled and gave his chest a weak knock.

Duff gestured to Zorn and the other Saiyans that he was done. "We're finished here." As Duff took off with Zorn and the guards, a re-energized Dischnell limped over quickly to the current Kapo who was short and pale with pink hair. "I am only going to say this once, each girl makes one panzerfaust on the low every ten minutes, to disobey the Arcosians is far more dangerous than disobeying the slave drivers. Understood?" She nodded fearfully to Deschnell. "It won't be hard to keep the Saiyans distracted."

Around a month passed, Roman was elated to survive his sixteenth mission. His commander Cheryi just finished twenty-four. "These missions are getting easier than easier!" Cheryi boasted, "One more like this, I'll be up there on the ship giving orders instead of risking my hyde on the ground!"

"I'll miss you brother!" Roman smiled, "But I won't mind taking your job when you're gone. It's a lot easier to capture these poor Romanese than to kill them."

"Speak for yourself!" Cheryi laughed a crossed his arms adorned with new scars, "It goes against everything I was ever taught to do! Axl must be planning something huge with all of the soldiers we're training."

"Rule number one: Don't die!" Roman laughed, mocking his lack of training.

"They shown you that video right?" Cheryi laughed hoping to bounce off of his brother in arms. He figured all of Frieza's recruits were forced to watch it.

Roman looked dumbfounded. "You got a video?" Cheryi laughed at him and Roman responded with an explanation of sorts, "My conscription resembled more of a kidnapping. Pretty much we were told not to die or disobey orders, otherwise we'd die faster!" Roman laughed.

Cheryi clapped his hands and grinned. "Make sure you have all of the recruits watch the video!" He laughed in high spirits.

"I look forward to it." Roman closed his eyes and mocked, "Rule number one: Don't die!"

Axl, Duff, and Izzy looked at their shipments from Planet Vegeta. When their slaves pried open the boxes the order was teeming with panzerfausts. Axl grinned from ear to ear, "Planet Vegeta, you could be mine…" He laughed maniacally as now he could commence his invasion of Planet Vegeta and finally impress Lord Frieza and receive his favor.

Zerstorer's ship quickly landed on Frieza's home planet where Zarbon was situated, he rushed over to his general, knowing his mission was interrupted for important business. "General, you've brought me for an urgent situation regarding Planet Vegeta. Has Frieza finally decided to end the Saiyan problem?"

"No, not yet." Zarbon responded, "we have no way of knowing how powerful King Vegeta is until Axl's armies take their crack at Planet Vegeta."

"King Vegeta was always elusive, we've had enough trouble with General Nappa. We didn't have one technology able to kill him and apparently we never developed it." Zerstorer contributed, "You're planning to have your rival soften them up?"

"I know it's going to take more than ten million screaming maniacs to defeat the Saiyan army, Axl either doesn't know that or he simply to prideful to admit it." Zarbon laughed, "I almost feel poor for all of them; their deaths will be especially brutal."

Zerstorer laughed heartedly and gathered himself to respond, "I'm sure you didn't bring me here to laugh at cornrows himself Axl."

"I need you to shadow the invasion. You'll be much more familiar with Planet Vegeta than anyone else in our ranks." Zarbon looked at his Lieutenant. Zerstorer knew this was extremely dangerous, he did not fare to well during the war on Planet Vegeta. However, he was unimaginably more powerful now. Zerstorer was a little bit afraid, as he could face hostilities from both sides but the excitement of the downfall of the Saiyans excited him overwhelmingly.

"Shadow the invasion," Zerstorer looked upon his commander not trying to show fear or eagerness, "you want me to report the progress of the invasion, that way when you step in…"

"It'll be like taking candy from a baby." Zarbon smiled.

"Coming from you, if Lord Frieza desires it consider it done." Zerstorer saluted.

Zerstorer excitedly went to his loft, where he saw his half-naked sister and a giant Medical Machine somehow in his condominium. "Kiki, put something on!" He yelled covering his eyes.

After his excitement was now abated, he was able to speak much more calmly about his good news to his sister, "I have great news Kiki, Planet Vegeta's days are numbered!"

"They're going to destroy it?" Stuka questioned in her full blue Planet Trade jumpsuit, wondering about her scheme.

"No, not that, but that imbecile Axl is going to assault Planet Vegeta. My commanders wish for me to shadow the invasion. When it surely fails, my general Zarbon and his Planet Trade armies will have that rock conquered quickly. You hear me? We will finally be avenged!" Zerstorer laughed.

Stuka chuckled happily in a way that caught her brother's attention. "You know, I played a small part in this plan…" Stuka goaded her brother.

"How, by violating every bylaw in the complex?" Zerstorer pointed out the Medical Machine angrily to his sister.

"Not that, I had Axl and his knuckleheads right here." Stuka smiled lustily.

Zerstorer's face turned blue while he started to turn around, "I really don't want to picture that."

"Not that man!" She responded rudely, "I convinced them all to purchase panzerfausts from the Saiyans and to keep the factories in tact, that way, they'll take their shot at Planet Vegeta, and the Tuffles will survive."

"You're truly a genius! You really are!" Zerstorer laughed happily with his eyes closed to his sister, "So crafty, so pragmatic, like a Tuffle."

Stuka blushed, "Daddy always said I was the pragmatic one."

"Even willing to sacrifice your boy toy for the greater good, I really applaud you!" Zerstorer continued to laugh while clapping his hands slowly.

"What do you mean?" Stuka sensed something was not right in her plan.

"That stupid Saiyan Roman is in Axl's ranks, if he miraculously didn't die yet in combat he'll definitely be killed for defecting." Stuka turned her back and trembled, starting to cry. "Kiki, what's wrong with you?" Zerstorer seemed upset at her.

"No Rome! I didn't know, I didn't know!" She cried, realizing her terrible mistake.

"His death will be for the greater good if he didn't probably already die on some rock. If survived he'd probably forget about you anyway." Zerstorer's reaction was crass, causing his sister to become enraged. When Stuka unexpectedly pinned her brother to the wall, Zerstorer was amazed a of her sudden increase in power. While wondering where it came from he yelped, "Kiki, I'm sorry. I just trying to say that most soldiers do not get to live on, like myself. It's a very tragic profession."

Stuka sniffled though she did not let up her hold, "I saw Roman, he came here."

"Axl let's his soldiers run off while on duty? I knew he was crazy." Zerstorer laughed, "I was literally chained in the barracks, Zarbon's men would kill anyone even jiggling the chains. I learned to sleep still."

"This isn't about you. Roman came here, mortally wounded before I saved his life with the DNA enhanced Medical Machine."

"That sounds pretty cool." Zerstorer remarked about the machine.

"After that night, I decided he was going to be the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with." Stuka then let her brother go and stopped crying.

Zerstorer was grinning until he gave some thought to what she said. When he realized his sister finalized her decision he put his head in his hands, "No, no, no, oh no—"

Stuka then spoke authoritatively with an attitude, "Now, how are you going to see through that he survives?"

Zerstorer had his eyes clenched closed disgustedly, "I don't know about myself, but I'll see through that he survives." He promised reluctantly before walking out his home.

Now with the panzerfausts procured, Axl and Slash drew up their plan of attack on Planet Vegeta. Colonel Fortus, a black haired humanoid, was briefing the troops of the general plan of attack, "The safest part of the Planet to commence the landings is at the heights of Seelow. In order for the invasion to succeed, the Saiyan army has to be drawn out into a decisive battle. This is not an attritional war, or goal is give the Saiyans a defeat so crippling they will be forced to surrender! Our mission is to capture the factories at Silesia by surprise after the Saiyans face their crippling defeat." The troops were sweating bullets, especially Roman, everyone was quite familiar with how powerful a Saiyan was. "This is not your run of the mill suicide mission though! The level of air and space support you will be receiving will be unprecedented, many of you will be provided with a great equalizer: The Panzerfaust. Pathetic Tuffles used these to slow their defeat in the war. A direct hit will kill a Saiyan in one shot. King Vegeta's favor with Lord Frieza has ended, and in no way do we want Lord Frieza or the likes of Dodoria or Zarbon to do the job we can do ourselves."

A fish faced soldier spoke up, "What if I don't receive a panzerfaust?"

"Keep in mind " the Colonel spoke loudly, "The punishment battalions will kill all malingerers on sight. Fight for Frieza, you have a chance to live. Fight against Frieza, you _will_ die." The final statement made the most sense to the soldiers.

Before the dawn of the invasion, General Nappa, with his full head of long streaming brown hair, stormed in to speak to King Vegeta. Someone with Nappa's prestige did not need to speak to the likes of Zorn or Wespe to get his word in with the King. Nappa was furious, "Shipments of panzerfausts to the Arcosians have been discovered after killing enough of the munitions plants workers and guards to put all the pieces together! I demand we mobilize the Saiyan army right this minute!"

King Vegeta stood up furiously, it did not take too long for both Saiyans to get into each other's faces, as if they were unafraid of fighting each other. "To mobilize would show the Arcosians we do not trust them, and we are severing our alliance!"

"Don't be a fool King Vegeta!" Nappa clenched his left fist and flexed his arm, "Frieza's armies are surely heading here since they acquired so many Saiyan-busting weapons! You know as well as I that Frieza and his decadent Arcosian race enslave the universe to maintain their sickening standard of living. We're surely to be next on his long list of subjects!"

"Silence!" King Vegeta screamed as a blue aura appeared around him, "Any further denigration of our Arcosian allies and our equals in the Planet Trade Organization is strictly forbidden. It will cost you, and your children's lives!" Nappa bowed and then took off furiously, being unable to mobilize would make Saiyans unprepared for a potential Planet Trade invasion.

Less than a week later Axl's spaceships were prepared to bombard the planet. "Save the cannons," Izzy changed the plans, "Seelow is almost undefended besides a light screen, save the reactor energy to repulse the probable counterattack that way the Saiyans do not reach Silesia."

Tuffle-built Saiyan radar alarmed the Saiyans of the attack, before Nappa could allow his forces to react he had to demand permission from King Vegeta to deploy as many forces as he could muster for the defense. King Vegeta continued to hesitate, allowing millions of Axl's hapless forces land uncontested. When the Saiyan screening forces were killed, did King Vegeta finally accept his betrayal. The objectives were being overwhelmed on the march, much to Zerstorer's displeasure when he finally arrived, "General, Axl has seemed to overwhelm the Saiyans already. Planet Trade soldiers have secured Silesia and are prepared to meet the Saiyan counterattack west. I don't see any sign of a bombardment, that means the Saiyans are about to be massacred from space."

Zarbon got up, he was in the privacy of his quarters, upset that the prize may actually go to Axl, "It will take me about a day to get to Planet Vegeta. Make sure at all costs that King Vegeta does not negotiate surrender with Axl!"

"The legendary Super Saiyan!" Zerstorer laughed as the Planet Trade attack was not repulsed easily, "Apparently he is no match for the likes of Frieza after all! Now I have to find that dope Roman and make sure he's actually alive."

Saiyan defenses in Silesia were almost subdued, Cheryi tried to cheer Roman up, who was uncharacteristically trembling at this point. "Roman!" He laughed, "Madman Axl was right, the Saiyans are no match for the panzerfaust, I see you're still clinging to yours tightly."

When Roman saw the old electronics plant, he confessed to his commander, "Since I'm not going to survive this mission, I'll confess to you that I fear for my life here since I am a Saiyan."

"What?" Cheryi yelled now figuring it was obvious, "You're a Saiyan? Is that why you're named after lettuce?"

"Actually, yes. My brothers Bardock and Nach work not too far from here." Roman teared up, "Now I have committed to ultimate dishonor to my family."

"If they're intelligent scientists like you said they were they'll surrender and join us." Cheryi figured.

"How many Saiyans did you see surrender today?" Roman pointed out, conveying that Saiyans have learned to fight to the death.

Before taking up defenses, the Saiyan garrisons hurriedly exterminated the Tuffles on their way out fearing that they somehow caused the Planet Trade 'switch sides.' When Axl's troops entered the factories to secure them, the sight of dead Tuffle bodies and the floors soaked with blood appalled even the Frieza soldiers inured to the sights of atrocities. Cheryi pointed out the final objective for them to capture was the spaceport which was situated with the laboratories. "Men! When we capture the spaceport Axl will be able to reinforce us quickly, then we'll surely overwhelm the Saiyan menace!" What seemed like a small detachment of Saiyans appeared, finally starting a stubborn defense of the laboratories and the spaceport. Many Frieza soldiers were wasted easily, but Cheryi figured out a workable strategy, "Fire as much ki as you can!" While Axl's cohorts repeatedly informed the lower level officers to minimize collateral damage to the factories, the strategy worked on the most part. The Saiyans easily dodged or tanked the small blasts but this brought them close to the faceless Frieza soldiers, who were deadly with their panzerfausts.

A small alligator-faced soldier yelled in fear as an eight foot tall Saiyan almost killed him with his hands before extending his panzerfaust, a metal pole with a grenade like device on the end of it, right into the Saiyan's stomach, making his body explode all over his. A generic Saiyan ball of ki killed him almost immediately afterwards. As Frieza Soldiers scrambled to recover their dead cohorts' panzerfausts, Roman made his observation out loud, "These aren't full-time Saiyan soldiers, just prison camp guards." Like himself he supposed. Roman sweat when he saw some high class Saiyans, likely Lieutenants, firing much more powerful kis into the surface.

"We cannot destroy the factories, flush out the invaders!" Yelled the Saiyan officer. The Frieza soldiers were flushed out into the air, becoming sitting ducks.

"There's no hope of assistance?" Roman wondered aloud, wishing for the much more powerful Planet Trade officers to step in. "Cover me."

"What!" Cheryi screamed, "You're not the one to give orders here, Saiyan!"

Roman flew into what was now an undefended anti-aircraft cannon. Roman started firing at the high class Saiyans, who have made short work of most of Cheryi's men by then, to great effect. The cannon's blasts were enough to kill the high class Saiyans in multiple well-placed hits.

"Colonel!" One of them yelled at his female superior, "there's no power level because it's coming from the flak! But only a Saiyan's trained to properly use that device!"

"I have no time to find out if it's friendly fire!" The black haired Saiyan Colonel finally realized that they were 'blind' due to a lack of a reading. "Blast it to Planet Frieza." Roman flew out before the tower was destroyed. The Lieutenant went to the ground being surprised by Cheryi, who used a panzerfaust to his stomach to kill him, taking him by surprise. The colonel flew to the now-destroyed tower, and let out a smirk before Roman emerged out of the ashes he was hiding in to shoot a Panzerfaust into her neck. She screamed in pain and turned around, Roman already knowing the device was not enough extended a large ring of ki from his hands and launched the Kill Driver point blank into her. Her lifeless body fell out of the smoke and into the ground.

The other Saiyan lieutenants retreated in fear after they received a signal that their colonel died, seeing so many powerful warriors die easily unnerved them and now they were being picked off by now panzerfaust armed opponents. Only Cheryi and a few others too weak to give a power signature from a distance were left alive. Roman who was panting after killing a fellow Saiyan sensed someone behind him, "Bardock. Brother, I know it's you." Bardock wanted his traitorous brother to turn around, "After you kill me, escape this planet. Fly far away from here. Steal a spaceship."

"You know that's not so easy to do anymore, because of you of course." Bardock criticized his brother, with Roman's and the Tuffle's escape few were now trusted with access to the spacecraft. "Why did you come back, you know now all three of us will ultimately be dead."

Roman turned around, looked at his brother, and tried to figure out a way to spare his life, "You don't have to die, you can defect and fight for Frieza."

"And dishonor our family further?" Bardock roared, wearing his iconic black armor without anything covering the shoulders.

"One way or another, you're going to be working Frieza when he takes over this planet and sells us into slavery!" Roman tried to speak some sense into him, "If you can't stand the sight of me, I'll let you kill me and take my armor. I almost earned my freedom, and it could be yours. No one will know it's not me." Roman looked at Bardock's tail, "You just have to take care of the tail."

Bardock trembled angrily, "You… Rome… You should have never come back, you sold us out."

Roman became offended, "How in the world would I do that? You think I like being forced to kill to survive? I live with the nightmares everyday!"

"Why do you go on then?" Bardock wondered why.

"Stuka, the girl you helped live. She told me that she needs me to go on. We're all that we have now, I have to do—"

"The Tuffle!" Bardock figured out, "That's why Frieza's men went straight here. That's how they knew where our defenses were, and our most advanced factories!"

"Huh?" Roman was oblivious at first to the Stuka's implicitly.

"We were played, bro." Bardock was still relatively friendly to his opponent, "The Tuffle knew Frieza was the only way to avenge her race after losing the war. I should have known."

"That's crazy!" Roman felt like his girlfriend was being accused, "She was just a meek girl we saved from the camps. One doesn't have to do with the other."

"Rome, you're so naïve, you always were." Bardock extended his hand, "turn yourself in, we'll turn ourselves in. We'll restore our family's honor and finally join Nach. How about it bro."

Roman started to power up, "No, none of us have to die!" He tried to reason with his brother one more time, "Defect to the Planet Trade with Stuka and I, before you have no choice!"

Bardock became enraged and started to power up quickly, "You fool!" He finally figured out that his brother had no way of breaking the Tuffle's grip over him, "You were always taught how manipulative Tuffles were. How is it to now know from experience?"

"What do you mean?" Roman responded with his glowing orange aura, still controlling his anger.

"She finally gave you everything, hasn't she?" Bardock smirked with his crackling blue aura. Roman was insulted at the inference, landing the first punch on Bardock's cheek. Bardock pretended the blow was not exceptionally painful by rubbing it off, "You've now chosen your side by striking your own brother who helped save your life. How sad, you devoted three years of service in the war killing those Tuffle monsters, now you're a Tuffle wind-up toy."

Cheryi screamed to his remaining men after receiving two high readings, "There are two power levels of 1,000, how many panzerfausts do we have left?"

"Just one. Isn't one of the powers corporal Roman sir?" A generic Frieza soldier responded, with his damaged armor.

"Yes, be careful. He admitted to me he is actually a Saiyan." Cheryi responded regretfully.

"A Saiyan! How?" The bat-faced soldier was stunned.

"Never mind that!" Cheryi roared, not bothering to offer an explanation, "Get ready in case he doesn't know what side he's on."

Nappa furiously plead with King Vegeta now that the Planet Trade clearly betrayed the Saiyans,"King Vegeta!" Nappa stormed in with his fist clenched, "The Arcosians' armies have landed at Seelow and have captured Silesia against no meaningful resistance. I demand we commit to a full counter-offensive without any regard to collateral damage! We're at war!"

"Calm down Nappa!" King Vegeta screamed back, "You can't focus your power when you're angry."

"Now is not the time to criticize my behavior," Nappa started approaching his king intending to fight, "Permit us to defend ourselves or I'll die right here!"

King Vegeta put out his fingers and prepared a Death Beam, when he saw truly how serious his general was, he put his hand down. "I see you are willing to die for our people. Go ahead, do what you see fit." When Nappa left, King Vegeta hung his shoulders down in shame. He had a sinking feeling he was about to betray his race.

Immediately, Nappa initiated what little Saiyans that were currently mobilized in Saiya City and ordered them to assault the Planet Trade invaders immediately. This played right into Axl's trap as his fleet commenced their bombardment. On their way to Silesia, tens of thousands of Saiyans were annihilated easily by the massive explosions of the cannons. The ones that survived met the panzerfaust armed Planet Trade soldiers that were waiting for them east.

Nappa and his officers easily survived the bombardment. At this point Nappa ordered his most powerful warriors to stop. "I'm getting many abnormally high readings, the highest at 7,500."

"But general…" Said Lori, a short and thin spikey haired female Saiyan, "That's as powerful as you! I'm sure you're excited to put your strength to the test!"

Nappa grinned from ear to ear anticipating the battle. All Axl and his cohorts could do is laugh at the Saiyans. Axl tried to take a reading of Nappa before his device exploded, "Ah, one of the defects. The very reason why we're here today."

"We were your most useful allies," Nappa smiled confidently, "your betrayal is most foolish."

Axl laughed maniacally, "The moment you dumb apes saw the full moon and decimated the Tuffle armies your use to Lord Frieza had ended! You know it was the Tuffles who were the greatest threat to the Arcosian race, not you dumb chimpanzees."

Nappa yelled, being angered by the insult and stunned at how Frieza could be scared of the lowly Tuffles, "You're lying!"

Axl and his cohorts laughed I'm the faces of Nappa and the Saiyans. Axl opened both of his palms and boasted, "Do you see that if you Saiyans don't surrender to Lord Frieza, your whole barrel of monkeys will be exterminated. You are losing your seat at the Planet Trade table, now the whole Saiyan army will be conscripted to the ranks of Lord Frieza's armies. Fellow generals and I will enjoying bidding for effective Saiyan soldiers. Bring me to King Vegeta, let's negotiate a favorable surrender to Lord Frieza. Let me be your ally!"

Nappa laughed uproariously, "You forget we are sons of the revolution! King Vegeta swore to us the Saiyan race will die before we ever become anyone's slaves ever again! That includes Frieza!"

"You dumb apes are already slaves of Lord Frieza," Slash crossed his arms, "How many Saiyan divisions are conquering Planets right now for Lord Frieza, simply to pay your debts to the Arcosians incurred in your war."

"I'll make Lord Frieza come here himself to bury your bodies!" Nappa punched Axl through a mountain before meeting fists with Axl. Their speed was tremendous with their After Image techniques. After evading each other's ki-spam techniques, they grabbed each other's hands in a power struggle, creating a huge crater in the ground with their translucent auras. "You're much better than I thought Planet Trade scum!"

Axl screamed, "You have only begun to test my powers Saiyan, witnessed why I am one of the survivors of my race!"


End file.
